[St. Louis Post Dispatch] ST. LOUIS ‐ Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards, under fire for comments on a local radio show about child shooting deaths in the city, reiterated his point at an aldermanic committee meeting Thursday.Edwards said while those under 10 years old were innocent victims, some older children had been linked to illegal activity.
"The purpose here is not to demonize anyone; the facts are the facts," Edwards told the Public Safety Committee.
Edwards said a 15-year-old was found dead one morning "with an automatic weapon on his person with an extended ammunition magazine, $5,000 in cash and a large quantity of drugs."
He said another shooting victim, 16, was on "the police carjacking offender list" and had been allegedly shot in a crossfire "engaged in by two other 16-year-olds."
"And finally," Edwards said, "another 15-year-old was alleged to have been ravaging inside a vehicle" in the early morning when he was shot.
He also said two victims over age 10 are believed to have committed suicide.
Edwards’ comments Thursday elaborated on what he said in an interview Oct. 3 on "St. Louis on the Air," a public affairs program aired on St. Louis Public Radio station KWMU (90.7 FM).
He said then that it’s important that children don’t engage in risky activity, adding that about eight of 13 killed in the city this year "were teenagers engaged in criminal behaviors themselves" and "very sophisticated."
The radio comments spurred outrage from 13 organizations, which earlier this week issued a joint statement saying "this kind of demonization of our children is shocking and unacceptable."
Among the organizations signing on were Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, Metropolitan Congregations United, the Deaconess Foundation and the Organization for Black Struggle.