St. Louis Girl, 15, Killed by Mentally Ill Brother who Found Shotgun in Home

Local news reports

A 20-year-old man with mental disabilities apparently accidentally shot and killed his 15-year-old sister Thursday afternoon in St. Louis, police say.

The man told police he didn’t know the gun was real, according to authorities.

No story of unavoidable tragedy with guns is complete without the classic lip-service advice:

“It’s so sad. If you know you have guns in the house, put them up and keep them away from your kids.”

Four Killed in Murder-Suicide in St. Louis

Family members arrive after four people were found dead inside A K  Home Health Care, located inside the Cherokee Place Business Incubator, on Thursday, June 13, 2013. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

STL Today

The operator of a home health care business gunned down three people who worked there — including his business partner — Thursday afternoon before taking his own life, police and others said.

The shots were fired about 1:40 p.m. at A K Home Health Care in the Cherokee Place Business Incubator at 2715 Cherokee Street, police say.

Officers recovered a semiautomatic handgun at the crime scene.

Police identified the gunman as Ahmed Dirir, 59, of the 900 block of Carr Avenue.
The victims were Khadra Muse, 44, of Indian Circle Drive in Olivette; Seaeed Abdulla, 29, of the 700 block of Cole Street; and Bernice Solomon-Redd, 54, of the 2400 block of Ridge Avenue in East St. Louis.

St. Louis Police Capt. Michael Sack said surveillance video showed the shooter opened fire after having a brief argument with others inside the business.

“We don’t know if this is a prior thing that carried over,” Sack said.

Sack said the victims all appeared to have connections to the health care business. Dirir and Muse are listed in public records as owners.

Police sources and relatives at the scene said Abdulla was married to Dirir’s step-daughter and that Muse and Abdulla were also related by marriage.

Bloody Night in St. Louis

Gun Crime is Up in St. Louis

CBS St. Louis reports

The latest crime report for July shows assaults with a weapon are up more than 14 percent from a year ago, underscoring what Chief Dan Isom says is a problem of more guns on the street.

“Many people have talked about the gun show loophole, which allows people to buy guns and basically there’s absolutely no background check,” Isom said, “So, just the way the laws are structured today, there is a proliferation of guns in our community.”

Isom says police chiefs from around the country are complaining about lax gun laws, and Mayor Francis Slay, a member of the police board, says gun proliferation was also a hot topic at the recent U.S. Conference of Mayors.

It often seem like everyone is in agreement about gun availability except the fringe-lunatics who blindly support gun-rights above all else.

Gun availability is a major factor in crime.  Why is that so difficult for some people to understand?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of St. Louis Man by Himself - He's Dead

The Morning Sun reports

Jim Baker, owner of Great Lakes Cattle Marketing of St. Louis, was killed Friday in a shooting accident. 

Baker, 50, was hunting after a raccoon in the barn when he tripped and fell, shooting himself, his father John Baker said Saturday. 

St. Louis Gas Station Shooting

Local News reports