ST. LOUIS — After a shootout in Tower Grove South, police found a homicide suspect dead inside a home.
What's typically a quiet, peaceful neighborhood; turned violent Monday night.
Officers responded just before 9:30 p.m. Monday to a shooting in the area of Hartford Street and Bent Avenue, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. There, they found 55-year-old Elizabeth Colletta dead on the porch of a home.
Police said a suspect in Colletta's death, 50-year-old Walter Young, was still at the scene armed with a firearm. Young went inside the home after ignoring the officers' demands and refused to exit. A standoff ensued where police and the suspect exchanged gunfire.
"When it is that close, it is very scary. It's pretty alarming," Natalie Slyman, a neighbor, said.
The suspect was later found dead inside the home, police said. It was unknown whether it was the officers' shots that killed the suspect.
Three adult children on the scene confirmed it was their parents who were killed.
Many people who live there, including Slyman, walk around the neighborhood every day.
"I don't love hearing that there was a homicide in my neighborhood. It is very upsetting just because you don't want to hear about something like this happening, especially so close to where you live," Slyman said.
A man by the name of Walter Young posted several times on Facebook Monday night. He referenced Satan in multiple posts and typed, "Satan was still trying to sacrifice you."
In another post, he typed, "She tried to kill me and was stronger than I thought."
Police have not confirmed if the Facebook posts are from the same Walter Young.
Meanwhile, nervous neighbors hope things will once again be peaceful, and the gunfire will go away.
"It's not like it's like this every single day. There are such wonderful things about this neighborhood as well. It's just going to make us be more aware of our surroundings and just be a little bit more careful. ," Slyman said.
A neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous said Walter Young was a friendly guy and even welcomed him and his wife into the neighborhood when they moved a few years back.
The neighbor said Young told him, "We watch out for each other in this neighborhood and have each other's backs."
No officers were injured. The officers present at the scene included:
- A 36-year-old male officer with 5 years of service.
- A 38-year-old male officer with 14 years of service.
- A 26-year-old male officer with 1 year of service.
- A 36-year-old male officer with 5 years of service.
- A 55-year-old male officer with 25 years of service.
As a policy with shootings involving officers, the Force Intelligence Unit assumed the investigation.
No other information was available as of Tuesday evening.
To donate to the Young family click here.
Resources for crime victims
If you have been a victim of a crime or know someone who has been, 5 On Your Side has compiled a list of resources.
The Crime Victim Center of St. Louis has multiple programs to support victims of crime. Crime Victim Center’s programs range from direct services to crime victims as well as “creating awareness and change within the systems they encounter.”
Life Outside of Violence "helps those harmed by stabbing, gunshot or assault receive the treatment, support and resources they need to find alternatives to end the cycle of violence."
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis has the Neighborhood Healing Network, which serves people who have experienced crime, violence or been the victim of an incident that caused trauma.
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