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St. Louis ciyy and county police are launching a new program that targets violence in high-crime areas.

The "St. Louis Initiative to Reduce Violence" or "SIRV" was announced this morning. Officials say SIRV is a grass roots crime fighting effort that will combine the efforts of additional police resources and community leaders. The pilot program will focus on kids and young adults and include Jennings in North County and the Walnut Park and Baden neighborhoods in north St. Louis.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch, and former police chief Dan Isom, were on hand for the announcement.

Police have identified the man who died during a bizarre road rage incident.

The incident started on westbound I-70 at the Union exit when an SUV, driven by Darvin Wallace, started follow a box truck. While following the truck, Wallace started ramming the other vehicle. Wallace eventually got out of his SUV and started beating on the truck with a hammer. That is when Wallace climbed onto the side of the truck. The driver tried to shake him off the truck and Wallace fell on the street where the truck driver accidentally ran him over.

Wallace was taken to the hospital and died later on Thursday.

A high speed chase is over after traveling through two counties.

Officers spotted a car that was allegedly connected to several drug cases. The driver sped off and led police onto Eastbound I-44. The suspect pulled off the highway in Eureka. After winding through residential neighborhoods, gun fire was exchanged and the suspect crashed in a front yard.

The suspect was arrested and taken to the hospital in unknown condition. 

The search continues for a driver who hit a man then left the scene.

Police say the accident happened at the Park Meadows Apartments near Woods Mill and Manchester just after midnight today. The victim remains in the hospital with unknown injuries.

Police have not released any description of the suspect's car.

UPDATE: The mother of a a five-year-old boy found wandering late last night at I-55 and Loughborough has been located but questions remain as to whether the child named Noah is physically back with his family.

KTRS' Michael Golde reported from a police substation in Holly Hills that police say is the boy, who identified himself only as Noah, is in protective custody. The boy's mother was located sometime after 5:00a.m. Friday but police would not say how they found her.

St. Louis Police spent Thursday night and Friday morning looking for Noah's parents after he walked into the Schnucks at Loughborough and I-55 just after 11:00 Thursday night.  Authorities say the rain soaked child told officers his name was Noah, he didn't know his last name nor his address. He said the dog with him was named   King and they were both hungry.  The child and his dog were fed by the store manager. A  security guard called police.

Some reports indicate the boy lives nearby and has wandered off before.     

We now know the identity of a 13-year-old boy who was shot and killed in Granite City Wednesday night.

Clayton Veninga was sitting on the porch of his home when a group of people started shooting. Witnesses say the teen started running for help when he collapsed--he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police are not certain if Veninga was the intended target and are asking for anyone who has information to call the CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police say they've arrested nine people, including builders, police officers and municipality officials, for colluding to illegally construct a residential building in India's financial capital that collapsed, killing 74 people.

Police commissioner K.P. Raghuvanshi says two builders were arrested for allegedly paying bribes to police and municipality officials to construct the eight-story building in the Mumbai suburb of Thane without any official sanction.

The building came crashing down on Thursday in the country's worst house collapse in recent decades.

Raghuvanshi said Sunday that police will formally charge the nine with culpable homicide and causing death by negligence at the end of an investigation into the accident.

If convicted, they can be sentenced to up to life in prison.

 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri House has passed a bill that would allow school districts to hire police resource officers.

Sponsoring Republican Rep. Sheila Solon, of Blue Springs, says the measure is part of efforts to keep schools safer after the Connecticut elementary school shooting that killed 20 children.

She says that school resource officers are considered county or municipal employees but her bill would allow school districts to hire them directly.

The bill would also strengthen the state's mandatory child abuse reporting laws by preventing supervisors from impeding a report.

The House voted 129-20 to the send the measure to the Senate Wednesday.

The man accused of spiking the soup at the Lafayette Center Dierberg's has been arrested.

Police say that John Schwendemann is the person who threw something into a soup crock. Fox 2 reports that Schwendemann voluntarily came to police last (Tuesday) night with his attorney. He says he was in the store on the day of the incident, but said he did not put anything in the soup. Schwendemann faces misdemeanor charges. 

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Police in St. Louis are searching for five men after a woman was killed during a robbery.

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The crime happened Monday night. Police say 39-year-old Glenda Jackson and two others were robbed at gunpoint by five assailants. One of the suspects shot Jackson in the chest as she tried to take back the stolen property.

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The suspects ran from the scene. Jackson was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.