One person has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for murdering a St. Louis man with a hammer early Sunday morning.
Zemir Begic
Two other suspects are in custody and a fourth is being sought.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the charged individual is 17-year-old Robert Mitchell, who police say attacked 32-year-old Zemir Begic along with the other three suspects. Witnesses said the attackers first began damaging Begic’s car, and turned on him when he got of it to confront them.
The murder angered many Bosnian immigrants living in St. Louis, some of whom speculated that the attack was motivated by Begic’s Bosnian descent, but police don’t think race was a factor.
They do say more than one hammer was used in the attack.
The other suspects that are in custody are 15 and 16. One is Hispanic and the other is black.
Mitchell turned himself in to police Sunday night.
The attack sparked demonstrations by other Bosnian immigrants. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson met with them and told them he would increase patrols in the neighborhood.
Earlier story:Â Fatal hammer attack outrages St. Louis Bosnian community
