The last thing you would expect to hear at a birthday party would be gunshots, but that is exactly what Ricardo Amezcua, a police officer, heard at his nephew’s birthday party in downtown St. Louis. His sister-in-law told everyone to get down, including his daughter, Kayla Amezcua. Ricardo Amezcua was in uniform, about to leave for work when his instincts kicked in. He chased after the gunman and told him to surrender.

    “They were plenty of bullets, close to five or six rounds,” said Amezcua after hearing the shots. “I got the door and asked people to call 911 and then saw the suspect running with a gun on his hand.” His initial reaction when he heard the gunman fire was to get into action and chase him down.

    “He put his hands up and I asked him to drop to the ground and he refused, so I knocked him down and put handcuffs on him. And he didn’t talk or look surprised until the city officers took him to the police van,” Amezcua said.

     One person was killed next door when the gunman unloaded his gun. Amezcua saw the gunman walking up to the house. He says that the gunman had seen his daughter, Kayla, in the window. That’s when his sister-in-law told everyone to get down. “My aunt told me to get down and I got on the floor. I was scared and we went downstairs.” Kayla Amezcua said.

     The suspect eventually dropped his gun for Amezcua to handcuff him, while he waited for the police to arrive. This is an eye-witness report. However, the investigation is still ongoing.