A St. Louis Alderwoman was met with a chorus of boos at a Board meeting Friday after she pointed the finger at gas station owners who are Palestinian.
"The people who are creating the most terror are the Palestinians who run the gas stations and are having shootings and killings," said Sharon Tyus, who represents the 12th Ward.
Despite a loud round of boos from fellow Aldermen and others, Tyus kept going.
"And the people say I gotta make a living, but you think you have to make a living at the expense of me having to drive through a shooting gallery," Tyus said.
Fellow member of the Board of Aldermen Rasheen Aldridge defended the Palestinian community.
"They own more than gas stations," he said. "They own various businesses that are part of the fabric of diversity that we need not only throughout St. Louis but throughout the whole United States."
The non-profit group Breaking Generational Poverty has been working with gas station owners to reduce violence. Board member Bryson Banks told Fox 2 News Tyus' words were divisive and irresponsible.
"Her comments were based on something, however, it is a gross negligence of responsibility to make such broad claims," he said. "They (the Palestinian community) is as much if not more so on the train of advocating for peace in the community."
The St. Louis Police Department issued the following statement:
“The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) does not have the statistical data to support or corroborate the Alderwoman’s claim, but the SLMPD remains committed to working with all community partners to build a safer St. Louis for all.”