This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: Business owners and residents of Cherokee Street are holding a rally and fundraiser tonight in the wake of yesterday’s murder-suicide at the Cherokee Street Place Business Incubator.
The Cherokee Street community is rallying behind the families of the murder victims. A fundraiser barbecue is being held tonight.
St. Louis Police officials have said that Ahmed Dirir, the co-owner of a home health-care company, shot and killed three of his employees -- Khadra Muse, Seaeed Abdulla and Bernice Solomon-Redd – at the Cherokee Street Place Business Incubator. Police said Dirir then committed suicide.
It’s an incident that’s brought local and national media attention to the business district, which has developed a reputation for eclectic and diverse businesses – as well as being a hub for Hispanic-owned businesses.
Members of the close-knit business community have scheduled a barbecue and rally tonight at 6 p.m. in front of the Fortune Teller Bar. Anne McCollough – who serves as Cherokee Street’s liaison – said that the money raised at the event would go to help the families of victims, some of whom were members of the Somali immigrant community.
Jason Deem – a prominent Cherokee Street developer – said the barbecue will “really acknowledge the victims and what’s happened and try to raise money for their families.”
“It’s a tragic incident and it’s a tragic thing that happened,” said Deem. “But the day after, people are coming to grips with it. It’s unfortunate to see national media attention on Cherokee Street for something like this. However, one of the things that has really shown through is the strong sense of community down here, everybody’s overwhelming sense of support for each other. The community’s really rallied behind some of the people that were closer to it.”
St. Louis residents shouldn’t use the shootings to draw any conclusions about the state of Cherokee Street, said those interviewed by the Beacon.
“It’s a terrible thing that happened, but it was clearly an isolated incident,” Deem said. “It was a very targeted workplace situation that really could happen anywhere. It’s unfortunate that it happened on Cherokee Street because we are an up-and-coming neighborhood. But it’s not like it was a random act of violence.”
Added Alderman Ken Ortmann, who represents the Cherokee Street Place Business Incubator at the Board of Aldermen, said: “It happened and people will deal with it and will continue to positively progress.”
The number of crimes in the four neighborhoods that encompass Cherokee Street – Benton Park, Benton Park West, Gravois Park and Marine Villa – have declined in recent years. Boosters of the business district hope that the area's popularity will attract people to rehab and invest in the surrounding neighborhoods.
“My word would be that Cherokee Street is like any other part of our city or part of our region,” said Alderman Craig Schmid, D-20th Ward. “It’s a nice place to go. I’m hoping that they get even more additional retail, and there’s lots of places to shop and visit and eat at. And I would encourage people to continue to do that.”
Schmid went on, "This was a situation just like we hear frequently about families where they have a violent reaction to something or an employment situation." And he said it's possible the shootings will bring the community around Cherokee Street even closer together.
"It's awful that it has to happen under such circumstances, but sometime it does cause people to recognize what they truly do have," Schmid said. "And we need to cherish that and we need to protect that. And we need to continue to work on the surrounding neighborhood as well altogether."
