ST. LOUIS — Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday that the state on Oct. 1 will begin deploying about 25 employees, many of them highway patrol troopers, “to get more boots on the ground” to try to help reduce violent crime in St. Louis.

Parson, at the end of a day of meetings with local officials and community leaders on the issue, also said about $2 million in additional state money will be channeled to the area to expand services to crime victims.

“None of us, no matter where we’re from, want to see our children being shot in the streets,” Parson, who is from the southwest Missouri town of Bolivar, said at a news conference at his downtown St. Louis office.

“That’s not who we are in this state.”

He said two troopers would be assigned to each of three existing special units led by federal agencies and which also include local police.

In addition, Parson said, the patrol would launch “surges” on interstate highways in St. Louis city, aimed at apprehending violent criminals and freeing up city police to deal with other high-crime areas.