Quentin L. Howard, 44, of Pacific has been charged in connection with a shooting in Pacific last weekend.
Howard allegedly shot and injured a 36-year-old woman, a 25-year-old woman and a 3-year-old boy in the 200 block of South Columbus Street on Oct. 14 before fleeing the scene in a vehicle, according to a written statement from the Pacific Police Department.
On Oct. 15, the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Howard with two counts of first-degree domestic assault and one count of first-degree assault, each one a class A felony; one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, a class D felony; and three counts of armed criminal action, each one an unclassified felony, according to court records.
Each of the class A felonies carries a punishment of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment. A class D felony is punishable by up to seven years in prison, and each of the armed criminal action charges carries a minimum sentence of three years.
Officers arrived on the scene of the shooting at 10:25 p.m. after receiving multiple 911 calls about shots fired in the area.
“Each of the three victims suffered multi-gunshot wounds and remain in area hospitals,” the report said.
Officials located two gunshot victims in the 200 block of South Columbus Street and a third victim in the rear of a home in the 200 block of East Central Street, according to the report.
The 36-year-old woman was in critical condition and the 25-year-old woman and the boy were in stable condition, the police department reported Monday, Oct. 16.
According to a probable-cause statement, Howard was involved in a romantic relationship with one of the women, and the pair have two children together, including the one who was shot.
Witnesses told police that Howard fired several shots from a rifle.
Neighbors and officers administered first aid to the victims until ambulance personnel arrived and transported the patients to area hospitals, the report said.
Howard fled the area in a Chrysler Pacifica van, and at approximately 10:35 p.m., the Eureka Police Department responded to a traffic crash involving the van and a Chevrolet Tahoe on Old Hwy. 66 and Six Flags Road, Assistant Eureka Police Chief Michael Werges said.
“Upon arrival, officers spoke with the driver of the Tahoe, and he said the driver of the Pacifica fled from the scene of the accident and went across the (Blue Compass RV) parking lot and disappeared into the tree line,” Werges said.
Witnesses told police that Howard had a rifle.
“We heard point-to-point (radio transmission) traffic that Pacific PD was looking for a vehicle matching the description of that Pacifica,” Werges said. “A sergeant on the scene recognized all of the matching information, and officers began to set up a perimeter around the area and contacted additional officers to assist.”
Werges said officers from Wildwood, Ellisville, Kirkwood, Creve Coeur, Des Peres and St. Louis County helped secure the perimeter.
Eureka Police used a drone to scan the area for the suspect.
“We determined the suspect in connection with the shooting in Pacific was inside of a culvert pipe,” Werges said. “This culvert pipe goes underneath I-44. Officers attempted to yell into the culvert pipe that they believed the suspect had crawled into.”
Police ordered him out of the pipe, and he eventually complied, Werges said.
Emergency medical personnel treated Howard on the scene for a head wound he reportedly sustained in the Pacific shooting.
Werges said officers found no weapons on Howard after he came out of the culvert.
A police dog was used and found a weapon in the culvert that reportedly had been used in the shooting, Werges said.
“We transported (Howard) in our car to Pacific Police where he was then transported to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office,” Werges said.
He said both eastbound and westbound lanes on I-44 were shut down while police pursued and arrested Howard.
Werges said the Six Flags Fright Fest was going on at the same time, posing a challenge for Eureka Police officers.
“We had officers working at Six Flags at the time. There were 10,000 people in Six Flags for Fright Fest,” he said. “I really want to give credit to our officers because they’re dealing with a lot of moving parts.”
Werges also commended the other responding agencies for their communication during the incident.
“It really shows what terrific cooperation there is between agencies,” he said. “In this case, it’s just a great example to show that we’re able to take a violent person into custody with no one being harmed (during the apprehension).
“We had a tragedy in Pacific, and our thoughts and prayers go out to those people who were involved there. We were trying to make sure there wasn’t any more violence.”