A man was found dead with trauma to his body at a Kinloch intersection Sunday afternoon, and St. Louis County police are now investigating his death as a homicide. No suspects were in custody as of the latest report, and detectives say the case remains active.
Officers were dispatched to the intersection of Wesley Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard just before 5 p.m. Sunday, according to fox2now.com. Arriving officers found a man with unspecified trauma to his body, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives with the St. Louis County Police Department's Bureau of Crimes Against Persons are handling the investigation, and as of the report, no suspects had been taken into custody.
A separate development tied to the same investigation has drawn additional attention. According to stltoday.com, an officer shot at a vehicle that was speeding toward police while they worked the Kinloch homicide scene. That report was later updated at 10 a.m. Tuesday to include the name of the man who died, according to the same outlet.
A Community With a Painful History of Violence
This is not the first time Kinloch has made headlines for deadly violence. The same outlet previously reported on a shooting that left two people dead and three others injured, describing it at the time as part of what residents called a “full-out gang war.” That earlier violence reportedly began Friday evening around dinner time, with Kinloch resident Zach Bain recalling that he dove for the floor of his refurbished apartment as shots rang out.
It is not yet clear how, or whether, Sunday's homicide connects to that pattern of violence in the small North County community. St. Louis County police have not released the identity of the man found dead, nor has a cause of death been confirmed, and investigators have not said what led up to the shooting involving the vehicle that sped toward officers.
How to Help the Investigation
Anyone with information about Sunday's homicide is asked to contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210. Tips can also be submitted anonymously, with the possibility of a reward, through CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477).
