Bosnian community in St. Louis outraged over fatal hammer attack
Published: Dec. 1, 2014Gabrielle Levy
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 1 (UPI) --ST. LOUIS, Dec. 1 (UPI) --The St. Louis Bosnian community erupted into anger and demonstrations Sunday night after a local man was murdered with hammers Sunday morning.
Two teen males, 15 and 16, were arrested Sunday, and a third, 17, turned himself in to city police headquarters Sunday night in connection to the death of Zemir Begic, 32.
Police say Begic was attacked around 1:15 a.m. in the Bevo Mill neighborhood by a group of teens who were damaging his car with hammers. When Begic confronted them, they turned their weapons on him, hitting him on the head, abdomen and face.
He was taken to St. Louis University hospital, where he later died.
Eyewitness Suad Nuranjkovic, 49, was in the passenger seat of Begic's car when at least five teens approached them with hammers. He says he was able to escape and hide in a parking lot across the street.
"I was afraid that if one of them had a gun, they were going to shoot me, so I didn't know what to do," he said.
Another, Seldin Dzananovic, 24, said the group approached him about an hour earlier, but he was able to fight them off, suffering cuts on his hands and neck.
While the incident has no connection to the ongoing unrest related to the death of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson, the area is on a hair trigger.
At least 50 people, mostly Bosnians, blocked Gravois Ave. near Itaska Street Sunday night, accusing members of the black community of targeting Bosnians.
"It's every month that Bosnians are getting killed," a protester told KMOX. "We came here for freedom from the Serbs -- to get our freedom. But now, we're getting killed by African Americans. That's not fair."
Police said Begic's attackers were black, but the incident did not appear to be racially motivated, but likely a crime of opportunity.
"There is no indication that the gentleman last night was targeted because he was Bosnian," said St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson. "There's no indication that they knew each other."
Will Bevo Mill Residents Bring About Ferguson-Type Riots Over Fatal Hammer Attack On Bosnian Man?
The fatal beating of a Bosnian man in the St. Louis neighborhood of Bevo Mill was horrible and tragic and is now bringing about even more concern. Many Bosnian residents gathered together to voice their anger and frustrations over the violence in their community, but is it enough to bring about the type of riots that have plagued Ferguson, Missouri, lately?
According to Fox 2 Now, police have built up their patrols after the Sunday morning death of 32-year-old Zemir Begic at the hands of four teenagers armed with hammers. There have been concerns that riots and payback could be coming from other Bosnian residents in Bevo Mill.
“They killed my son for no reason,” Begic’s father Bajro Begic said through an interpreter. ‘I just want justice for my son to be served the right way and to be served like they deserve.”
The teenagers jumped out of two cars in the Bevo Mill area and began to attack Begic. They started by beating on top of his car and then attacked Begic by hitting him in the abdomen, mouth, and head with hammers.
Begic was brought to St. Louis University Hospital to be treated, but he died shortly after arriving.
StlBosnians states that many peaceful demonstrators thought back about other Bosnian residents of Bevo Mill who have been victims of violence. One was a 19-year-old who was fatally shot in his family’s Bevo Mill convenience store back in May of 2013.
The Bosnian community in St. Louis was already very distraught after 24-year-old Denis Nasic’s body was found at the base of a cliff in Cliff Cave Park on Saturday. Police in St. Louis are still not sure how he died and if his death was suspicious, but he also lived just a few blocks away from where Begic was murdered.
Since the incident took place on the morning of November 30, three people have been arrested by the St. Louis Police. A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old were picked up by the cops and then a 17-year-old turned himself in. The oldest teenager has been charged with first-degree murder.
Mayor Francis Slay is outraged by the incident that happened in Bevo Mill and has the highest hope that the teenagers are tried as adult.
Twitter and other social media sites have lit up in the past few days as there truly is concern that Bevo Mill could become the next Ferguson.
Bevo Mill may not end up having riots, but the Bosnian community has already witnessed far too many violent and suspicious deaths. They won’t let this end without some sort of resolution, and it’s going to need to come soon.
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