ST. LOUIS — A 9-year-old boy became the seventh child to die by homicide this year in St. Louis after someone opened fire on his family's vehicle Sunday night.
Police identified the boy as Caion Greene. He was shot just before 10 p.m. in the 900 block of LaSalle Park Court, in a neighborhood south of downtown. He died at a hospital.
Caion lived in the 4500 block of Coyle Court in south St. Louis County.
Police said Caion was hit in the torso. He was taken to the hospital by relatives and police were called once they arrived.
Three others in the car with Caion were not hurt, police said. They were a man, 31, a woman, 34, and a 7-month-old boy.
Police said two men are suspected in the shooting but released no details on them or said if the shots came from another vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 314-444-5371 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
The shooting was in the LaSalle Park neighborhood south of downtown and bordering Soulard. A St. Louis Housing Authority complex, the LaSalle Park Apartments, is the address of the shooting.
The city has recorded 32 homicides for the year through Sunday. Seven of the victims, including Caion, were under the age of 17. Four were girls and three were boys.
The victims included a 7-year-old girl slain in a double shooting, along with her father, in the Central West End on Jan. 24.
This the first homicide of the year in the La Salle Park neighborhood, according to St. Louis police. There were two homicides in the neighborhood from July to December, compared to none during the same period a year earlier.
One of the earlier homicides in LaSalle Park happened in the same block as Sunday night's killing. Katrina Robinson, 28, was shot Oct. 25. She lived in the 9800 block of Vickie Place in unincorporated St. Louis County.
