BLACK VIOLENCE & SHOOTINGS SKYROCKET ACROSS AMERICA - Nine people wounded in shootings in St. Louis early Sunday

Nine Negroes were wounded in four separate shootings in St. Louis in the early morning hours Sunday, city police said.

The most serious incident occurred near a BP gas station at Olive Boulevard and Compton Avenue.

Four men were shot at 1:30 a.m. by a man who apparently became upset after a group of men sitting on his car refused to move, police said. The man retrieved a gun from his vehicle. Three of the victims suffered gunshots to their legs and one was hit in his abdomen. All the victims — who ranged in age from 20 to 34 — were reported in stable condition at hospitals.

A man, 27, was arrested after he returned to the scene as police investigated, authorities said.

Another shooting occurred at 1:20 a.m. in the 5900 block of Martin Luther King Drive. Two 18-year-old men were shot by a man, 42, who was arrested, police said. One victim was wounded in his buttocks. The other had a bullet graze his arm.

Twenty minutes later, two men were shot as they were walking to a vehicle in the 2500 block of Union Boulevard, police said. One victim, 21, was treated for a bullet grazing his back. The other man, 34, was hit by two bullets in his foot and another to his hip, police said. He was listed in serious condition at a hospital. Police said the victims told them they could not determine where the shots were fired from, adding that the 34-year-old victim was uncooperative with authorities.

And just before 5 a.m., a man, 32, was shot multiple times as he parked his vehicle in the 4500 block of Garfield Avenue, police said. The victim drove himself to a nearby gas station, where an ambulance was called. The victim was in critical condition.