“Black lives matter,” protestors chanted at the Ferguson Police Department on Wednesday night, March 11, while another black life was lost a few miles east down West Florissant Avenue.
A five-year-old black boy was killed when his family’s vehicle was fired upon by an unseen assailant around 7:30 p.m. near O’Fallon Park in North St. Louis, Lt. John Green, commander of homicide for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police, told The American.
Green said the family was fired upon in their minivan for unknown reasons, and then the father of the family, who was driving, returned fire as the two vehicles traveled west on West Florissant – in the direction of the Ferguson protestors.
Earlier that afternoon, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III announced the resignation of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, which inspired a resurgence of protest at the Ferguson Police Department, which has been quiet in recent weeks.
Green said that a 15-year-old black boy and an elderly white man were also injured in the shooting in North St. Louis.
The only identification the victim’s family provided to police was a black SUV, but Green encouraged anyone with any information about the shooting to call CrimeStoppers at 314-725-8477 or via http://stlrcs.org/.