ST. LOUIS 鈥 Police on Monday asked for the public鈥檚 help finding a gunman who appeared to have mistakenly shot and critically injured a Christian Brothers College High School hockey player who was riding in a vehicle with his father on Interstate 55.
Department spokesman Mitch McCoy said detectives believe Colin Brown, 16, was hit by a stray bullet on Saturday night and was not targeted in the shooting. McCoy requested neighbors near the intersection of Interstate 55 and Loughborough Avenue check their doorbell or surveillance video footage and contact police.
McCoy said the teen was in critical condition.
鈥淲hoever did this, we are coming for you,鈥 McCoy said. 鈥淓xpect us to be knocking on your door.鈥
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Meanwhile, Colin鈥檚 family, friends, teachers and coaches gathered to support him.
CBC varsity hockey coach Ryan Trenz said Colin is a quiet kid, except when he鈥檚 with good friends or on the ice rink.
鈥淗e鈥檚 an extremely hardworking kid,鈥 said Trenz. 鈥淎nything he鈥檚 involved in, you鈥檙e going to get 100% of his effort. He鈥檚 a great kid. He鈥檚 a great teammate. He鈥檚 a great hockey player.鈥
Trenz said he has known Colin and his family for about four years through the school鈥檚 hockey program and has visited with Colin鈥檚 family at the hospital.
鈥淚 think they are doing the best they can,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey are in as good of spirits as you can be in a situation like this. They鈥檙e just outstanding people. They鈥檙e always there. They always give 100%. It鈥檚 not hard to see where he gets that from.鈥
More than 100 of Colin鈥檚 friends, family and current and past teammates gathered at the ice rink Sunday night to support each other.
鈥淭hey know Colin is fighting,鈥 Trenz said.
Colin plays hockey for CBC as well as for a club team in Affton, where he gained the nickname 鈥淏rownie #72.鈥 At school, his jersey number is 3.
鈥淣obody should have to go through something like this,鈥 Trenz said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no playbook for something like this.鈥
Colin鈥檚 father, Calvin Brown, posted a statement from his family to Facebook on Sunday.
鈥淎s a family and as a former law enforcement official with over 28 years of experience, we believe that greater efforts are needed in the city of 最新杏吧原创 and the surrounding region to support the police and equip them with the necessary tools to combat such senseless, violent gun crimes,鈥 he wrote.
Calvin Brown last year retired from the Illinois State Patrol after 22 years with the department. He retired as a lieutenant colonel, according to the department.
McCoy said the gunman or gunmen hit one other car in the shooting. Police closed down I-55 twice over the weekend to recover evidence, but McCoy wouldn鈥檛 say what they found. The shooting, he said, was in the southbound lanes; Colin and his dad were driving north.
鈥淭his is incredibly rare,鈥 McCoy said. 鈥淵ou do not hear about it, this type of incident, unfolding regularly in the region or city of 最新杏吧原创. To be the victim of a stray bullet is rare.鈥
The 最新杏吧原创 Post-Dispatch tracks the data behind reported homicides on an interactive map that allows readers to explore information in various ways.
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