#St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones ‘didn’t flinch’ amid gunfire during speech

St. Louis’ mayor shrugged off the sound of bullets flying as she spoke about gun violence on Friday, saying she “didn’t flinch” because she hears “a lullaby of gunshots” on a nightly basis.

During a news conference in St. Louis, Mayor Tishaura Jones was mid-answer when the sound of four shots can be heard close by. She responded to the shots by sarcastically remarking “isn’t that wonderful?” and casually surveying her surroundings, video shows.

“Well, I heard gunshots in my neighborhood every night. My son and I fall asleep to the lullaby of gunshots in the distance every night, because I’m the first mayor in over 20 years to be born, raised and still live in North St. Louis,” Jones said, when asked by a reporter if she felt safe following the gunfire. “We live in a neighborhood [where] we hear it more often than not.”

“Yes, I heard it, but I didn’t flinch,” she added. “It’s a part of my life now and that shouldn’t be.”

The startling moment came after a roundtable on gun violence with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.

“The sound of gunshots is a regular occurrence in too many areas of my city as well; something I grew to know from youth,” he said in a tweet after the incident. “Today’s shots reminded us of the reality so many of our sisters, brothers, and babies face each day and the need for change.”

Lucas was in St. Louis on a two-day visit as part of “a continued effort by both administrations to promote regionalism among leaders in the state of Missouri and share best practices for public safety, equitable development, and more,” according to a press release.

The pair of mayors met with survivors of gun violence in Dutchtown — a neighborhood in St. Louis which has put in place Cure Violence programs — to observe their anti-gun violence efforts, the release said.