mass shooting

Hundreds of people gathered at the Cathedral Basilica on Monday to honor Jean Kuczka, the teacher who lost her life last week when a gunman shot her and a student during an attack at the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in south St. Louis. “The world is truly a better place because of Jean,” said her son Stephen Kuczka Jr.

Family members of the gunman who killed two and wounded several others during a shooting rampage at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School recently asked police to take a gun from the home, interim St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Michael Sack said Wednesday. They also had been monitoring his mental health and helped him get treatment and medication.

Jean Kuczka’s family said she was passionate about helping kids during her 38 years as a teacher. Kuczka was killed in the shooting Monday at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School.

Jay Greenberg was named the head of the St. Louis office earlier this month.

The top news story early on Jan. 7, 2010, was the winter weather. Three inches of snow had fallen overnight, and it was still snowing. Temperatures were…