House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, did not respond to a question about whether he would support a special session.

Parson told reporters Tuesday that he is investigating what the state can do to assist the state’s two largest cities in reducing gun violence.

He said calling on the state Highway Patrol to police St. Louis interstates is one item on the table. He also suggested that state financial resources could be tapped.

“I think we all want to help St. Louis and Kansas City right now,” Parson said. “I mean with these kids getting killed in the streets, something’s got to give. We’ve got to figure out what we can do.”

In 2017, former Gov. Eric Greitens deployed the Highway Patrol to St. Louis.

Although troopers issued thousands of tickets and arrested hundreds, there was no concrete way to determine the effect of the program.

Homicides were up overall over 2016, but were down by about 9% during the pilot program period compared with the same period a year earlier. Assaults involving guns were up by about the same amount when comparing July through September 2017 to the same months in 2016.