Gun Violence

Mayor Tishaura Jones is pushing the board to pass the legislation, which she unveiled in August after a roundtable with survivors of gun violence.

Call for Help Inc., an East St. Louis-based nonprofit known for assisting people in need, said it was shutting down at the end of September.

Lester, an 84-year-old white man who lives in Kansas City’s Northland neighborhood, was charged with two felonies for shooting Ralph Yarl on the night of April 13, after the Black teen mistakenly arrived at the wrong address.

The Connecticut-based National Shooting Sports Foundation filed the suit in federal court in East St. Louis on Monday, just two days after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the bill into law.

Under the new Illinois law, gun dealers and manufacturers can be sued — either by the state or private individuals — for marketing firearms, accessories and related products in a way that promotes illegal paramilitary or private militia activity in the state.

The city extended its weekend evening hours at the Dunn-Marquette and Wohl community centers and launched a teen zone in Downtown, after a shooting in June left one teen dead and 11 injured.

Faith leaders and community organizers will discuss gun violence and public safety Wednesday at the Progressive National Baptist Convention town hall meeting in St. Louis. They'll convene public conversations about ways to prevent gun violence in Black communities and how to advocate for better gun control laws.

The Office of Violence Prevention, led by Wil Pinkney, funds organizations looking to decrease violence in St. Louis.

19-year-olds Jeremiah Miller and Justin Boyle share their lived experiences as young Black men in St. Louis as well as their ideas for how to provide safe places for young people to socialize.

Mike McLively of the Giffords Center for Violence Intervention said the city needs to improve overall safety by investing in programs that support mental health and housing security.