4 dead in murder-suicide at St. Louis business

Michael Winter | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Woman was 'hysterical', ran from St. Louis shooting Witnesses describe the developing scene after shots were fired at a St. Louis store killing four people.

Two men and two women were shot dead

Semiautomatic handgun was recovered

The dead were all in their early 40s to mid-50s%2C police said

Two men and two women were shot dead Thursday afternoon in a murder-suicide after an argument at a St. Louis business, police reported.

A semiautomatic handgun was recovered.

The shooting occurred about 1:45 p.m. CT (2:45 p.m. ET) on Cherokee Street, in the south end of the city, KSDK-TV said. The gunman worked at a home health care business inside the Cherokee Place Business Incubator, said Police Capt. Michael Sack.

The dead include the business owner and three employees. Sack said the gunman argued with his victims before opening fire and then killing himself. The dead were all in their early 40s to mid-50s.

The Riverfront Times reported that the gunman was the owner.

None of the dead have been identified, and no details yet about the nature of the argument that preceded the bloodshed.

A lawyer with an office in the building told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the health care business was owned and staffed by Somalian immigrants, and that he had heard "heated arguing" before.

The building is a former movie theater that houses between five and 10 small enterprises. It is part of the Cherokee Station Business District, a seven-block stretch that includes retail, dining, art and entertainment.

The Associated Press writes that the shooting occurred "where many Hispanics have relocated in recent years. The street is lined with antique shops, kitsch stores and other shops."