State briefs 2/2/16

Police: Man jumped to death at hotel

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis police now say a man jumped to his death from the 16th floor of a downtown hotel. The incident happened about 12:20 a.m. Sunday at the Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel. Police said Monday the man was distraught after an argument with his girlfriend in a room on the 16th floor. He broke a window and jumped, crashing into the lobby atrium. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said he has not been positively identified.

School locked down after shooting

ST. LOUIS -- A report of shots fired outside a St. Louis high school put students on lockdown, but no injuries were reported. Police said shots were fired about 9:15 a.m. Monday outside Beaumont High School on the city's north side. School already was in session, and the school was locked down for about 10 minutes as police closed a block of Natural Bridge Avenue. A spokesman for St. Louis Public Schools said it doesn't appear students were involved in the shooting, which happened near the entrance to the school.

Public warned about sewage in Meramec

ST. LOUIS -- The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District has advised people to stay out of the Meramec River because of sewage. Signs have been placed along the river from Fenton to the Mississippi River, warning people to avoid contact with the water. Operations at the Fenton Wastewater Treatment Plant were knocked offline in December because of record flooding. District spokesman Sean Hadley said the Fenton plant will continue releasing untreated sewage into the Meramec until it can be repaired. Repairs to the plant are expected to take months. Anyone who comes into contact with the river in that stretch is advised to wash with soap and water immediately.

4 in custody after two-state chase

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Four suspects are in custody after allegedly robbing a store in a Missouri suburb of St. Louis and fleeing into Illinois, where they were captured after a chase. The robbery happened early Monday at a Mobil on the Run convenience store in Maryland Heights. Police said one of the men pointed a knife at the attendant and demanded money. The suspects -- three men and a woman -- drove away in a stolen Pontiac Bonneville. Police began a chase on Interstate 70, which crossed into Illinois. Authorities said about 4:30 a.m., the suspect vehicle crashed into a ditch in Caseyville, Illinois. All four were apprehended. The woman was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Extra help nixed for struggling airport

BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- A Southern Illinois airport that has struggled to attract airliners in its nearly 20-year existence has unsuccessfully sought federal financial support in recent years to help bolster its bottom line. The Belleville News-Democrat reported Mid America Airport in Mascoutah applied for $525,000 grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation in each of the past three years. Airport officials suggested the extra money could keep Illinois travelers from driving to the larger Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Airport owner St. Clair County lost more than $6 million in 2013 on Mid America, which is 25 miles east of downtown St. Louis and has yet to turn a profit since its 1997 opening.

-- From wire reports