Lithuanian ice cream truck driver shot, left for dead

ST. LOUIS -- A young Lithuanian college student was in the first days of a four-month visa to work and travel in the United States. He had hoped to earn some money and sample American culture.

Instead, his ice cream truck was hijacked June 21, and he was shot and left for dead.

The man remained in intensive care this week at a hospital, while doctors were unsure to what extent he would recover, St. Louis County police said.

The police were withholding the 22-year-old victim's name to protect his safety.

His attacker remained at large. Investigators said they have no leads in the case.

The victim has had visits from co-workers at Frosty Treat Co. and a few Lithuanians living in St. Louis. His mother is expected to arrive next week.

The agency that placed him in St. Louis, the Council on International Educational Exchange, in Portland, Maine, matched him with a job selling ice cream for St. Louis-based Frosty Treats Co. Most students in the program travel throughout the United States during their final month before returning home, a spokeswoman said.

The Frosty Treat truck turned down a street in north St. Louis County about 8 p.m. June 21, police said. When the driver stopped, a man climbed into the passenger seat and demanded that the driver lie on the floor of the truck. Then he shot the victim several times, police said.

The gunman drove to north St. Louis and abandoned the truck.