ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - After the recent triple-shooting on the riverfront that left one man dead and two people wounded, the Coast Guard tells KMOX that tow boat operators for some time have been complaining about gunfire along the Mississippi River at St. Louis.
Spokesman Lt. Daniel Towey says, "It's sporadic. We have received reports in the past from tow boat operators of gunfire originating from the riverfront."
The President of Osage Marine Services, Mark Patterson, tells KMOX no one has been hurt, but deck hands have been shot at and vessels hit, leaving pock marks in the hull and piles bullets on the decks.
The problem he says, happens up and down the river, north St. Louis, downtown, and in south city near their docks two miles above the Jefferson Barracks Bridge. Patterson says other barge companies in the St. Louis Harbor Coalition talk about it at their regular meetings.
"God forbid we have a pilot hit," Patterson says, "and some barges coming down through the bridges. There could be an oil spill, product losses or sunken barges."
St. Louis Police are now closing the gates at the south end of the riverfront to prevent large crowds of revelers from parking along Leonor K Sullivan Boulevard.
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