3 Injured as Gunfire Breaks Out at St. Louis Vigil for VonDerrit Myers Jr.
Denise Hollinshed, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 9, 2016
Three men were injured Saturday night in St. Louis as gunfire broke out during a candlelight vigil for an 18-year-old fatally shot by a St. Louis police officer two years earlier.
The men, all in their 20s, were shot as they attended a memorial service for VonDerrit Myers Jr. in the 4200 block of Shaw Boulevard near the Missouri Botanical Garden, according to St. Louis police.
Dozens of people who had gathered for the vigil scattered as the shots were fired, according to a witness.
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Kevin McGrane, a deacon at St. John Episcopal Church on Arsenal Street, walked to the prayer vigil held for Myers Jr., who was fatally shot by St. Louis police Officer Jason Flanery on Oct. 8, 2014.
Investigations by police and prosecutors found that Flanery, who was in uniform but working private security that night, had returned fire after Myers had run from and fired at him.
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At least 50 people, including Myers’ family, were present when the vigil was interrupted by a disturbance in the street where several young men were arguing with one another, McGrane said.
“Mr. Myers Sr. and others tried to separate the group when someone pulled out a gun and started shooting,” McGrane said. “They started shooting, and then someone else started shooting. There were multiple shots fired all over the place.”
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