Gunfire shattered a quiet Sunday night on the 5500 block of Sapphire Avenue when shots rang out at a 2017 Dodge Charger, and a woman was grazed in the forehead as she lay in bed, according to police. Officers say multiple people, including juveniles, were detained at a nearby home, and a 23-year-old St. Louis man was arrested and is being held on a cash-only bond.
According to First Alert 4, court records identify the suspect as 23-year-old Christian Watkins, charged with first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. The records state Watkins was on the street shortly before 10:30 p.m. when he and two others opened fire at the driver and passenger of the 2017 Dodge Charger. Investigators reportedly recovered five pistols at a nearby residence, including weapons fitted with auto sears and equipment to make them automatic.
Local shooting trends
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department publishes weekly CompStat reports and monthly NIBRS files that document shooting incidents and violent-crime trends, according to SLMPD. Police use those datasets to track patterns in gun violence over time, shift resources across neighborhoods and prioritize investigations as new incidents unfold.
What happened at the scene
First Alert 4 reports that officers recovered 16 shell casings at the scene and noted the Charger had a shattered rear window from the gunfire. The vehicle briefly drove away before being stopped, and its occupants were interviewed. A woman inside a nearby home was grazed on the forehead while in bed and was taken to a local hospital, the outlet reports. Court documents cited by the station say Watkins was detained along with four other adults and 10 juveniles during a consent search of the address, and that he admitted he and others fired at the Dodge. Watkins is being held on a $100,000 cash-only, no 10% bond, according to the report.
Legal notes
Watkins faces multiple felony counts that carry substantial penalties if he is convicted, and the case will move forward through arraignment and pretrial hearings in the local court system. Officials have not released any possible motive, and detectives continue to investigate the shooting.
