Six homicides reported in 12 hours in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -- The night manager of a Drury Inn hotel in St. Louis was shot and killed during an early Thursday robbery attempt -- one of the city's six homicides during a 12-hour span.

Police say Scott Knopfel, 50, was fatally shot in the head at the hotel near Interstate 44 just before 3 a.m. after he struggled with his assailant while opening a cash drawer.

Surveillance video shows the man, whom the manager mistook for a patron, entering the hotel and leaving less than 30 seconds later.

The first fatal shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday during a home invasion near Fountain Park.

The city's medical examiner's office identified 34-year-old Leon Rivers as the man who was shot as he ran from the home, which police say was unlocked, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. A woman at the home was not injured.

About midnight Wednesday, a man was found shot in the hallway of an apartment complex in the Carondelet neighborhood.

Police say Kenny Burgett, 19, was confronted by his girlfriend's former boyfriend. The suspect, whose identity has not been released, challenged Burgett to a fist fight before shooting him, according to police.

Less than 10 minutes later, two men died after a shooting and robbery on a street in the Dutchtown neighborhood. Eric Lee, 21, was shot twice in the head and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Jerivon Taylor, 20, died at the scene from gunshot wounds.

A sixth homicide was reported later Thursday morning when a 32-year-old woman was shot to death in her car just south of downtown St. Louis while waiting at a stoplight.

Police say the woman knew her attacker. A 32-year-old man who was in the car's front seat was shot in both of his hands, while a 32-year-old man in the rear passenger seat was not injured.

No one has been arrested in any of the killings.

Chief Sam Dotson said in the three cases where police have identified potential shooter, those suspects have extensive criminal histories.

"It emphasizes the level of violence and the availability of guns in the hands of criminals and their willingness to use them -- five incidents in six hours, six victims in 12 hours," he told the newspaper.