Man’s death marks 260th killing in St. Louis this year

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man at a St. Louis gas station marks at least the 260th killing in the city this year.

Police say the victim was gunned down just before 6 p.m. Sunday at a Circle K station in the Patch neighborhood.

Police on Monday identified the victim as Laron Martin.

A teenager was killed a block away just three days earlier.

Homicides spiked in St. Louis in the late spring and through the summer, resulting in one of the most violent years in the history of one of the nation’s most violent cities