Hate Crime in St. Louis: Raceless, Faceless, Nameless Person Believed to Have Shot, Severed Spine of White Cardinals Fan Leaving Friday Night’s Game…

Got Himself Arrested on Sundry Other Charges Before Cops Concluded He was the Shooter

“Chris Sanna, second from right, poses for a family photo with his mother and brothers at a Cardinals game on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. He was shot during a robbery after leaving the game. Family photo.”
 

Chris Sanna in uniform 20 years ago, possibly with his mother 

Chris Sanna in the hospital, presumably with his mother
 

Re-posted by Nicholas Stix

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has published the vic’s name and photo, but has refused to publish the suspect’s name, mug shots, or the surveillance images of him using the vic’s stolen credit cards. As Chicago Tribune reader scrappy koala would say: Don’t bother telling us, because we already know!

scrappy koala at 12:03 AM June 11, 2011

I've said it before and I'll say it again that you are right. Race doesn not matter and you dont need to tell us what race it is because we already know. Especially when you dont tell us. If this was White on Black crime there is no doubts on anyones mind that all of a sudden race would matter and you would report it but if its black criminals you wont say race which actually tells us the race. When ever a news site wont say the race I instantly know which race. This works pretty much 100% of the time without fail.

Suspect in custody in shooting of Cardinals fan in downtown St. Louis
By Christine Byers, Joel Currier
39 minutes ago (Circa 4:51 p.m.)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
2

ST. LOUIS •A suspect in the shooting of a Cardinals fan downtown last weekend is in custody, authorities say.

Police Chief Sam Dotson tweeted Tuesday that "a person of interest has been identified" in the shooting of Christopher S. Sanna, 43, of House Springs. Dotson said the person was in custody in St. Louis County on unrelated charges.

Sanna was shot and possibly paralyzed during a robbery after he left Busch Stadium Friday night.

The suspect is a man in his 30s, according to police sources. He was arrested over the weekend in north St. Louis County on unrelated domestic assault, weapons and drug charges.

He was identified as a suspect in the shooting of Sanna after detectives saw surveillance images of a man using Sanna's credit card after the robbery, according to the sources.

Sanna remained hospitalized Tuesday. Doctors told his family last weekend that his spinal cord cannot be surgically repaired because of the damage from a bullet. They hold on to hope that his spine may recover to some degree on its own, though doctors say he will likely never walk again.

Sanna was shot about 10:30 p.m. Friday at Walnut Street and Memorial Drive. He and his siblings had been at the Cardinals game to celebrate his mother’s 60th birthday. Sanna and his girlfriend left the game at the start of the ninth inning Friday because he had to work Saturday morning. The rest of the family stayed for the game and to watch the postgame fireworks.

Sanna had parked at the Old Cathedral parking lot and was walking to his car. According to police, two men in a dark-colored sedan drove up to Sanna and his girlfriend. The driver got out with a gun and demanded their belongings. The woman gave the gunman her purse, and the couple turned to run away. That’s when the gunman fired several shots in their direction, hitting Sanna in the back.

“They turned to run away, but they didn’t make it very far,” his mother, Candis Sanna, told the Post-Dispatch Monday. “As soon as they gave them the stuff, they were going to try to run away, but he shot them. They were within arm’s reach.”

After Christopher Sanna’s girlfriend called 911, he lay on the pavement and called his mother’s cellphone from the scene. It was so noisy from the fireworks that his mother didn’t pick up. “Mom, I’ve been shot,” he said on his mother’s voicemail.

Sanna has been on pain medication at the hospital but has been awake and able to share some of the details of what happened to him.

Christopher Sanna is a manager at an automotive store in south St. Louis County. He has an adult daughter. He served six years in the Army, stationed in Germany.

His relatives set up a fundraising site for help with his medical bills. By early Monday, they had raised about $5,000, a number that jumped into the tens of thousands by late Tuesday as media reports of the shooting drew attention to the site.

Candis Sanna, who works near Union Station, said she’s aware of crime problems in the city. But she said she expects to be safe when coming and going from a baseball game.

The shooting has sparked discussion of safety downtown and after Cardinals games.

Police officers usually can be seen in the immediate vicinity of the stadium before and after games as they direct pedestrian and motor traffic. Beyond three or so blocks, a police presence is not as visible.

The Cardinals hire off-duty St. Louis and St. Louis County police officers to work part time at the stadium during games. As many as 25 officers are working inside the stadium during games, and more are expected for the postseason.

Dotson said the department plans to beef up its presence downtown going into the playoffs.

Mayor Francis Slay said Monday he would give Dotson “unlimited overtime” to put more police on the streets. Slay reiterated his goal to hire more police officers, but he warned it might not be enough to combat what he called “a higher level of boldness” by criminals who are carrying more and higher-caliber weapons and who have little regard for consequences.

“We cannot have a cop on every corner at all times all over the city of St. Louis,” Slay said Monday.

Joel Currier of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.