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ST. LOUIS — A band of thieves breaking into cars near Carondelet Park early Friday fired shots that killed one of their accomplices, a 16-year-old boy, after a homeowner interrupted them, police said.

The resident apparently had fired a warning shot into the ground after spotting the group breaking into cars about 2:10 a.m. in the 6300 block of Vermont Avenue.

Police have made no arrests but believe the shot that killed the boy came from his friends — not from the homeowner.

“They’re on a mission to find guns,� police spokesman Mitch McCoy said of the thieves. “They’re on a mission to get armed and commit other acts of violence in the entire region.�

Police have been struggling with car thieves and break-ins for years. Carjackings have led police on high-speed chases that have, at times, turned deadly. And run-ins between homeowners and thieves, similar to the one described on Friday, have also gotten violent.

Two years ago, a Clayton man interrupted a group breaking into cars, and was shot and killed.

McCoy briefed reporters at police headquarters on Friday about the morning’s incident.

The teen killed Friday lived in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, police said. Authorities did not release his name. His accomplices dropped him off at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, then left. He died at Barnes.

McCoy said city detectives are working with agencies in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County because the group of thieves may have broken into cars in the suburbs earlier in the morning.

It’s not clear, police said, how many people were in the group.

McCoy declined to comment on the person who interrupted the break-ins, who is now considered a witness. McCoy said he didn’t want to put anyone’s life in danger by saying too much.

He said the account of the shooting could change as the investigators learn more, but early indications are that the boy “was breaking into numerous cars.�

At some point, the thieves were interrupted, McCoy said. The thieves fired multiple shots at someone, and their accomplice was hit.

At least six cars were broken into, McCoy said. He did not release a description of the vehicle the thieves were traveling in.

Police realize it’s “frustrating� for people to have their vehicle broken into, McCoy said. But “your life is worth more than your property� and he urged people to call 911 rather than try to intervene if they see a crime in progress.

In November 2023, a man in Clayton, 41-year-old Joshua Harris, was shot to death after interrupting people trying to break into his wife’s car early one morning. Two teens — Darrion A. Johnson and Trenell J. Johnson — face murder charges in Harris’ death.

McCoy said city police are trying hard to catch thieves who break into cars. In March, a grand jury in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ indicted 22-year-old Eugene Jamison III on more than 50 charges related to numerous car break-ins from late last year. Jamison broke windows, snatched purses from car seats and stole iPads, jewelry, a Nintendo Switch and multiple guns over the course of a month, court records say — all while on probation for similar charges.

But the troubles continue. Recently, residents have reported such bands of thieves driving their streets late at night.

About 2 a.m. one day in March, a 26-year-old man in the Tower Grove South neighborhood was watching TV near a front window and heard windows breaking outside. He peeked outside and saw an SUV with the lights turned off “slowly creeping through the neighborhood,� and three males trailing behind on the street or sidewalk.

The resident said he yelled out the window at them as they got ready to break into another car. They bolted away, and the resident kept yelling at them. He said they stopped and opened fire in his direction.

“I saw the flash of the muzzle,� said the resident, who asked not to be identified.

No one was hurt. He heard bullets hit the home, and found bullet holes in a neighbor’s home and some car windows.

He said next time he plans to take his car keys and hit the alarm button to scare them off.

“I’m going to get my head down beforehand,� he added.