ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Federal Bureau of Investigation says that a serial killer was arrested while coming back to St. Louis over the weekend. He was taken into custody while traveling by train from Kansas City back to St. Louis at a stop in Independence, Missouri.
The FBI says that Perez Reed, 25, shot at least six victims with the same .40-caliber gun. Four of his victims died from their wounds.
The FBI says that Reed lived in St. Louis but traveled to Kansas City, Kansas where two victims were shot and killed in the same manner as the shooting in St. Louis. He is scheduled to appear in court today.
The four homicides and two shootings that Reed may be connected to in the St. Louis area happened in September. Investigators say Reed shot some of the victims in the same, “distinctive manner.”
The FBI says that he is responsible for four homicides and St. Louis Police say that he may be connected to more killings.
The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department sent some information to the St. Louis Police Department about a suspect in a shooting there. The cooperation helped put all of the crimes together. Federal agencies were added to the investigation and that led to the arrest in Missouri.
“We got a violent offender off of the streets and without the cooperation that would not have gotten done, said St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell.
There does not appear to be any connection between the victims. They did not know each other.
Detectives will be applying for murder charges at the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office today. Police say that Reed was apprehended by the federal agents for, “Interstate Transportation of a Firearm with Intent to Commit a Felony.”
FBI agents said Reed was in possession of a .40-caliber handgun that matched shell casings located at least three crime scenes. The handgun also matched casings at several murders in the City of St. Louis.
St. Louis Police now believe that Reed may be connected to the killings of Pamela Abercrombie, 49, and Casey Ross, 24. They both died in September. Investigators had asked the public for help to solve these connected crimes.
“There was evidence that indicates that these are related,” Maj. Shawn Dance said in October. “As far as right, now we cannot go into what that evidence is.”
Abercrombie was killed in the 3800 block of West Florissant on September 16. She was found at around 11:15 pm on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound.
Reed may also have been involved in a shooting in the 4500 block of Adelaide on September 16. A 28-year-old woman was shot in the face at around 10:30 pm. She was taken to the hospital and survived.
Ross’s body was found in a vacant lot near the 1500 Block of Mullanphy on September 19th at around noon. She was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.
The federal indictment says that police found Marnay Haynes, who had been shot several times and was laying in the middle of the street on September 16 in the 9900 block of Glen Owen Drive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Haynes had been reported missing as a runaway but was not considered endangered. Investigators noted she’d been shot at least twice in a distinctive manner.
Lester Robison was shot at least two times in the same manner as Haynes. His body was found on September 26 in the 1700 block of Barbados Lane in Ferguson.
Prosecutors believe that Reed is tied to another shooting. On Sept. 12, a man was found shot several times in his chest. He suffered serious physical injuries and permanent disability as a result. Authorities did not specify the location or time of this shooting.
Residents living near the area where Haynes was killed are shocked a suspected serial killer was in their neighborhood.
“It’s just scary,” said Tiffany Jones, who frequently walks in the area where Reed is suspected of committing several crimes.
Even though police previously did not share any public concerns about a possible serial killer, Jones said it had a chilling effect on her day-to-day life.
“I was actually scared to walk to the store,” she said.
Charles Parker also lives in the area. He’s heartbroken over the loss victim’s families are feeling. He believes the man now suspected of multiple shootings has caused an immeasurable amount of heartache.
“He’s ruined so many people’s lives,” Parker said.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office released the following statement Monday afternoon:
“The Circuit Attorney’s Office has been working closely with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department from the beginning on this investigation. This is a complex, multi-jurisdictional case. The cases in the City of St. Louis are currently under investigation to ensure the most important goal – that justice is brought to the many victims and their families; and the person responsible is held accountable for these heinous crimes.”
Statement from the Circuit Attorney’s Office
