ST. LOUIS — Square Inc. confirmed Tuesday that its offices in downtown ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ were temporarily closed after a fatal shooting at a homeless encampment nearby.
Police found an unidentified man who had been shot and killed around 7:45 p.m. Sunday at Interco Plaza, which sits at the intersection of Tucker Boulevard and Martin Luther King Drive.
In response, Square opted to close its offices Monday and again on Tuesday.
The plaza is mostly owned by the city and sits just north of the homeless services provider St. Patrick Center.
The encampment there drew attention in July when Square moved hundreds of employees to its new office at 900 North Tucker Boulevard and the city placed canvas-covered fencing around the area. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones pledged to work to remove the encampment by early September.
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Amanda Laumeyer, senior director of development at St. Patrick Center, said the encampment quickly became a concern for homeless advocates and for the people who lived there.
“There’s no services, it’s not dignified, not clean,†she said. “It’s not safe.â€
Signs appeared at the plaza in early August telling people to relocate to a temporary shelter run by the St. Patrick Center in a warehouse owned by the StarWood Group a few blocks away. That shelter hit capacity “very quickly,†said a spokesman for Jones’ office.
Roughly a dozen tents remained on the plaza Tuesday morning. Police had not identified the man who was shot nor the person suspected of shooting him.
