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Singer Marc Cohn cancels STL show after being shot

By KWMU

St. Louis, MO – Singer Marc Cohn has canceled his performance Wednesday night at the Pageant.

The Grammy-Award winner was shot in the head Sunday during an attempted car jacking in Denver. But he was treated and released after the shooting.

"Frankly, I can't tell you how he survived," said police spokesman Sonny Jackson.

Jackson says Coh was struck in the temple when a man fired into his band's van in a parking garage. The bullet appeared to have been slowed by the van's windshield and by striking the vehicle's driver first.

Cohn was alert and talking when emergency workers took him to the hospital from the concert site. The bullet grazed Cohn's driver and tour manager Thomas Dube, who also was treated and released.

No arrests were made, but police identified a suspect. Joseph W. Yacteen, 26, allegedly tried to stop Cohn's van in the parking garage after reportedly fleeing a downtown hotel Sunday night, where he had tried to pay his bill with a stolen credit card.

Police said Yacteen fired one bullet into the van after Dube, who saw that he had a gun, sped up and swerved trying to avoid Yacteen. The van was carrying four people at the time.

Yacteen also allegedly fired several shots while fleeing security guards and trying to take a car from a woman. He eventually disappeared in a stolen SUV.

Yacteen is being sought on attempted first-degree murder, robbery and other charges. Authorities said he missed a court date July 15 on a drug and weapons charge.

Cohn is married to ABC news reporter Elizabeth Vargas. He had a hit with the song "Walking in Memphis" and won the Grammy for best new artist in 1992.

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