(DailyVantage.com) – The Democratic mayor of St. Louis is seemingly taking a Pontius Pilate approach to a crime spree that has affected many of the city’s businesses. He is suggesting that business owners should be held accountable for crimes committed on or outside their premises.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones cited the large number of crimes – “violence around convenience stores and gas stations” asking, “How can we hold those business owners accountable and also bring down crime?”
Jones put forward the suggestion during a meeting of the Black Mayors Coalition on Crime, which was held in Memphis, Tennessee. The meeting itself was closed to the media, but the mayors who participated said they discussed various possible strategies to better fight crime in their respective jurisdictions.
The mayor’s statement comes on the heels of a violent encounter involving two teenage girls in the city. The harrowing incident was captured on video and made the rounds on the internet, which showed a 15-year-old girl convulsing on the ground after being attacked by another young girl, who hit her multiple times and smashed her head on the ground.
The victim is still alive but suffered a fractured skull, swelling, and bleeding in her brain as a result of the incident. A GoFundMe page was put up to deal with the teen’s mounting medical bills and has accumulated a total of $350,000 so far.
St. Louis is one of the worst cities in America in terms of the crime rate, with statistics showing that the city has seen a substantial increase in crime incidence in 2023 compared to the year before. St. Louis is among the cities in the U.S. with the highest incidents of violent crime and murder; the city has an “F” rating from the website CrimeGrade.org.
News outlets have sought additional comments from Jones with regard to her statement, but the St. Louis mayor has not responded as of press time.
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