ST. LOUIS – A chaotic scene at the start of the long holiday weekend ended on something of a more unified note. On Thursday night, seven people were shot in Downtown St. Louis just hours after the city’s main Fourth of July fireworks show.
The youngest victim being a 13-year-old boy.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones visited the STL Festival block party on Sunday to address the chaos that seems to be consuming some of the city’s adolescents.
“I’ve been working hard—with a capital W—to make sure we put the resources in our community to reduce crime…and that we put our arms around our babies and give them productive things to do to make them productive citizens, instead of going downtown and shooting off fireworks in the middle of downtown; but it’s gonna take all of us,” she said.
The aim of the festival is to unite the community through music, food, and fun.
“I just like the vibe, the people – it’s a good vibe,” festival attendee Adrienne Morris said. “Everything that’s going on right now, it’s good to this togetherness just the unity of people.”
The festival was founded four years ago by four locals who want to help the city’s youth put their energy towards something great, which is why they planned a high school party at Tandy Rec Center leading up to Sunday’s big block party.
“We just try to provide these spaces and let ‘em know y’all seen. We feel y’all, we love y’all, and at the end of the day we’re not here to talk about the problems of the city, we’re here to be a part of the solution,” Jordan “Shorty” Johnson, co-founder of STL Fest, said.
