Ali Schulz
Editor-in-Chief
Hockey player and Christian Brother College High School student Colin Brown died after being hit by a stray bullet on I-55, a reminder of the continual gun issues in St. Louis.
Brown was struck by the bullet on Nov. 23, after heading home from a hockey game. While he fought hard for his life in the hospital, he succumbed to his injuries four days later. He was just 16 years old. There are no leads, and Crimestoppers has upped its reward to $25,000 for information.
A Webster Groves High School sophomore met Brown through a mutual friend, and they quickly connected.
On Brown’s death, the sophomore said, “It’s a weird feeling. He was such a good guy and was nice to everyone.”
The funeral for Brown took place Friday, Dec. 6, at the Cathedral Basilica, according to First Alert 4. In addition, a memorial service was held on Thursday, Dec. 5, at CBC.
Since this shooting, the hockey community has rallied around Brown’s family for support. “Brown’s hockey coaches for CBC and Affton said that their players are doing their best. They said playing again is what Brown would have wanted,” 5 On Your Side said.
As Brown’s teams have continued to play, however, they have held remembrances.
“The CBC hockey team honored Colin with a group huddle and stick tapping before the opening faceoff,” Fox 2 Now said.
Hockey fans who attended the game also “paid respects with a round of applause, signs and T-shirts in Colin’s memory,” Fox said.
However, the CBC team was not the only team to remember Brown. The St. Louis Blues also remembered Brown before the start of their game on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
“The Blues left a hockey stick outside their locker room in memory of the youth star,” and Blues coaches wore pins that read, ‘72 strong,’ during Wednesday’s game, in nod to Brown’s jersey number with the Affton Americans team,” the NHL website said.
“It is good to see that people are coming together to support him and his family,” the sophomore said about the remembrances.
However, the sophomore also acknowledged that the death of their friend says something about the gun violence in St. Louis and is a glaring reminder of the continual problems gun violence causes.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, “in an average year, 1,381 people die by guns [in Missouri].”
Everytown added, “Missouri has the eighth-highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S.,” and there is an average of 20 unintentional gun deaths a year.
“Collins’ death shows that there is a gun violence issue that needs to be fixed. His death could have been avoided,” the sophomore said.
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