ST. LOUIS — The chilling and disturbing photo is the talk of the town.
It shows five teenage boys holding high-powered guns and semiautomatics. Two of the teens appear to be smiling.
St. Louis police call them suspects in a mass shooting at a downtown office party more than a week ago.
"Those young men's fathers, mothers, aunts, whoever care for them I know that they didn't raise them to be like that," said Farrakhan Shegog, the Founder of the non-profit Young Voices with Action, Incorporated.
Makao Moore, 17, was shot and killed.
Eleven other young people were wounded during the shooting.
"My heart goes out to the person who lost his life and to all of those who were impacted by the violence that's taken place downtown," Shegog said.
It's been three days since police released the stunning photo of the young suspects.
While a spokesperson for CrimeStoppers says they have received "numerous tips," police have not made any arrests and no one has turned the teens in.
"There are a lot of families that don't feel safe talking to the police," Shegog said.
For the past 11 years, Shegog's non-profit has mentored, offered safe spaces and steered teens out of trouble.
Shegog offers this to anyone who knows the teens pictured in the troubling photo: "If there's a parent, a father, sister or aunt who feels they don't know which way to go, there are plenty of community leaders that they can talk to."
"You can't cure violence with a hot dog. You have to cure violence with anti-poverty programs," said Tory Russell, the Director of the grass-roots group International Black Freedom Alliance.
In the past two months, they and other concerned groups hit the streets of St. Louis, in hopes of reaching teens before they turn to violence.
"We have walked all over including downtown, north side and other areas. These are our kids and if you don't get to the root of the problem of violence, you'll end up curing the symptoms," Russell said.
Anyone with information about the teens' whereabouts is asked to call detectives at the St. Louis Police Department at (314) 444-5371 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS.