The shooting range where city police officers train is back—with a bang. After extensive renovations, the range has become an annoyance to neighbors, who say it is louder than ever.
The range, which is near the Gasconade exit off I-55, had been in disrepair for years. Officers are required to do regular firearm training and even at one point had to go to other shooting ranges in the area to get their required hours. But under the new state-appointed Board of Police Commissioners, the range underwent extensive renovations, and officers are again training there.
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There is just one problem.
A large sound-dampening wall that had once buffered noise coming from the range is now gone. The gunfire can be heard as far away as the old Lemp Brewery, well over a mile away, and even at the intersection of Jefferson and Cherokee.
“Since the range has come back into use, the volume, duration, and intensity of gunfire have become deeply disruptive to daily life across multiple neighborhoods,” wrote Stephanie Botkin, president of the Marine Villa Neighborhood Association in a letter sent to the Police Board on Wednesday. “Many have described the experience as resembling a ‘war zone,’ creating an atmosphere of ongoing distress and unease.”
She added in the letter that the neighborhood association has heard from two nearby schools—KIPP Wonder Academy and St. Louis Sudbury School—whose staff say that the persistent gunfire is frightening students, some of whom go inside from recess when they hear it. For residents, Botkin added, it is hard to know whether the sounds of gunshots come from police training or “actual criminal gunshots.”
Police spokesman Mitch McCoy tells SLM, “We are aware of the neighborhood’s concern. We recently reopened the training facility with much needed improvements and work remains underway. We strive to be good neighbors and will take the community’s noise concern into consideration when making future improvements.”
Last year, SLM reported that the shooting range was in such a dire state that its director, Clarence Hines, resigned. He said that among the facility’s problems were a leaky roof, collapsed walls, and extensive mold. A photo Hines provided shows the sound-dampening wall, which indeed looked like it had seen better days.
But with it gone, the sound of gunfire is travelling even beyond the immediate neighborhood.
“It’s not just Marine Villa,” said Mayor Cara Spencer, asked about the complaints at a Thursday press conference. “I have been in touch with a lot of residents who expressed a lot of concerns about the noise at the shooting range.”
Spencer, who until last year lived in Marine Villa, also blamed the removal of the noise dampening wall. “The removal of that wall has been really significant in the noise,” she said. “The complaints are numerous and well-founded.”
Alderwoman Jami Cox Antwi, whose ward includes the area around the range, tellsSLM she’s fielded “numerous” complaints from Marine Villa and Benton Park residents. The complaints she’s getting have to do with the gun fire happening early in the morning and at night. She says that some noise proofing and some notice to residents would “go a long way.”
Botkin, the neighborhood association president, noted that her organization supports the police and police training, but was hoping the range could be used during limited hours, with noise mitigation and after notice given to nearby residents.
Hear more about this story from Ryan Krull on The 314 Podcast.
