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St. Louis man fatally shot by neighbor as he argues with pregnant girlfriend

Jesse Bogan
ST. LOUIS — A man who was involved in an hourslong argument with his pregnant girlfriend outside a home in the Dutchtown neighborhood was shot and killed after he was confronted by three men, a witness said Saturday.

The man, whom police have not identified, was listed on a police report as a suspect in the shooting that occurred about 6:15 p.m. Friday in the 4000 block of Hydraulic Avenue.

The witness told the Post-Dispatch that the man who was ultimately shot was arguing with the three other men when he got a gun from his vehicle and told them to keep their hands off him and leave him alone. One of the neighborhood men walked away but returned with a gun and shot the man in the head.

A 63-year-old man who lives nearby identified himself to the Post-Dispatch as the shooter. He said he wished it hadn’t happened but that he had no choice.

“He was choking the girl,” the neighbor said. “No one was helping. He pulled out an AK (47). I couldn’t let him kill her. He was choking her … as far as I could tell.”

The neighbor said he was taken in by police for questioning and then released.

The dead man’s girlfriend, who identified herself as Melissa Renfrow, said she was not choked. “They killed him. It was not self-defense,” she said.

Renfrow, 21, said, “He never touched me physically. We were in a verbal argument. He would never hurt me or his son. … We loved each other.”

She identified her boyfriend as 23-year-old Craig Williams. Their son is expected to be born in two weeks, she said.

She said Williams didn’t point his gun at the neighbor who shot him.

“He carried a gun because he lived in St. Louis and it’s very dangerous,” she said.

The witness said Renfrow could be seen hours before the shooting repeatedly hitting and shoving Williams, and that Williams did not strike her in response. Police were called to the scene during the argument but left before the shooting occurred.

The couple was speeding around the neighborhood in separate vehicles for a while. When they pulled up to Williams’ residence, he got out of his vehicle, approached his girlfriend’s vehicle and demanded that she return his cellphone. It was during this encounter that the neighborhood men intervened and Williams got a gun out of his vehicle, the witness said.

Renfrow said Williams wasn’t asking for his phone, just that he wanted to talk to her.

The police incident report listed four people — two women, ages 21 and 54, and two men, ages 47 and 63 — as victims. They were uninjured.

The report gave no information about how the shooting occurred.

Williams was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

The shooting occurred in the Dutchtown neighborhood where reported crime is up nearly 7% from the same period the previous year.

Authorities asked anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers online or at 1-866-371-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

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Article posted in its entirety to avoid disclosing personal preferences. The entire article may be viewed here: STL Today
Hat tip to our Gun Bunny for the link.

The power to tax is the power to destroy.
– John Marshall

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