St. Louis man arrested for at least a dozen shootings involving children

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The suspect, Joseph Renick, faces charges of first degree murder, armed criminal acts and illegal possession of a firearm for the deadly shooting of 15-year-old Sentonio Cox, Sunday , according to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office.

Police said police officers responding to a call from a missing person had arrived in the Carondelet neighborhood last weekend to find Sentonio dead from a gunfire.

Renick was being held on bail of $ 500,000, according to the circuit prosecutor's office.

A teenager who introduced himself as a friend of the victim told the post-expedition in St. Louis that Sentonio was heading to his home after being shot. To return home, the teenager often crossed an empty lot near the scene of the shooting, the friend told the newspaper.

Sentonio was retiring from Renick, hands up, when the man shot him in the head, according to prosecutors, reported CNN affiliate , KTVI.
At least 12 children have died of gun violence in St. Louis since April. Here are their stories
Sentonio's body was found less than 48 hours after another child, 8-year-old Jurnee Thompson, was shot in front of a high school preparatory game.
Renick is the second arrest in the series of shootings. Police said that a suspect was in custody following the death of Xavier Usanga, 7 years old. The boy was shot dead earlier this month while he and his sisters were playing in the courtyard of their home in the Hyde Park neighborhood of the city. The suspect has still not been charged, the authorities said.
Federal prosecutors have stated that a St. Louis man facing an independant federal accusation has admitted to shooting Xavier. He was not charged in Xavier's death, reported KTVI this month.

The fatal murder of Sentonio is the last of this murderous summer for young people in St. Louis, where the police investigate at least 10 homicides committed by minors, while two others have been classified as suspicious, according to the spokesperson Evita Caldwell.

People carried balloons during a Tuesday vigil on the ground where Sentonio was killed. His mother tried to encourage teenagers to cry him.

"Do what you need to do to survive," said Roxzyanna Edwards, according to CNN affiliate, KPLR. "You can die at any time, do not take your precious time for granted."
Local reports said that a 10-year-old girl was among the victims of a triple homicide this weekend, but it was unclear whether she had been shot or gunshoted . The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Service did not include him in a list of young gunshot victims.
The frustrated locals gathered Wednesday for another vigil to remember the lives of the city's young children killed in recent months. The names of the dead appeared on an electronic screen. A local legislator read them aloud.

The killings resulted in tearful vigils around the city for the innocent victims of gun violence.

"We all feel pain and pain every day of the week," said James Clark of the Better Family Life Community Awareness Organization.

The youngest victim is 2-year-old Kayden Johnson, who was killed in late April with her mother, Trina 'ty Riley, 18, police said.

Last weekend, city officials announced a dark formula for calculating the number of awards leading to child murderers: $ 25,000 for each child under 10, for a total of $ 100,000.

The reward's money will expire Sunday, officials said.

CNN's Darran Simon and Elliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.

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