Two construction workers on the I-57 improvement project at the Dix-Irvington Road interchange were shot Wednesday night with a powerful air rifle.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Detective Bobby Wallace says both workers were initially taken to a Mt. Vernon hospital and then airlifted to a St. Louis Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Wallace says two young juveniles were located at their nearby home on Adams Street and arrested in connection with the shootings. They were later released to their parents.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department went to the juveniles’ home based on the direction of travel of the shots that hit the workers. The shots had apparently been fired from near the residence.
Wallace says multiple air rifles were located at the home.
Initial attempts to get persons inside the residence to exit were not successful. However, after on-duty members of the Mt Vernon Police Department / Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office High-Risk Team responded with the armored vehicle to assist their efforts to get the subjects inside the residence to exit were successful.
The first construction worker that was struck was a flagger for a contractor on the project. They were hit in the back of the head. A supervisor that came to the assistance of the flagger was then hit in the chest. Wallace says one of the two workers was released from the hospital Thursday morning.
The incident was first reported at 9:30 Wednesday night.
