One person is dead and a second is injured after a shooting in north St. Louis Monday night.
Police responded to Lotus Avenue after 7:30, not far from the intersection of N. Kingshighway Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Drive. Officials say one victim was shot in the foot and the second died on scene.
St. Louis Ward 22 Alderman Jeffrey Boyd was on scene as police conducted their investigation, and said the person who died was his nephew, 23-year-old Rashad Farmer.
Farmer was standing near a vehicle talking to an acquaintance when he was struck. The second victim was standing in front of a residence when he heard shots before being struck.
An emotional Boyd appealed to the crowd for change.
"I'm pleading and asking for young people to please put the guns down, please put the guns down, it's just not worth it," he said.
"We can do better than this, St. Louis," he continued. "We need to do better than this. We are on a pace to break last years record of homicides in the city of St. Louis. That is nothing to be proud of."
Boyd said his nephew was expecting a baby with his girlfriend.
During an interview not far from where the shooting took place, an unidentified young man who lives nearby, listened to Boyd's comments, then asked to speak to Newschannel 5. He called Monday night's shooting "a tragic situation."
"I have an 11-year-old daughter. She's an excellent student. I have cousins, nieces, and nephews. I don't want to see them going through what these people are going through right here," the man said. "That young man lost his life. This is serious, man. My young brothers and sisters, get it together."
Boyd said he'd like to see more community outrage for killings like the one that claimed his nephew's life.
"We march every time the police shoot and kill somebody, whether they deserve it or not," said Boyd. "But we're not marching when they're killing each other in the streets. Let's march for that. You can't stand out here and talk about 'black lives matter' and you're part of the problem. Let's be part of the solution."
Police have not released the victims' names.
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