ST. LOUIS — Gunfire is rampant is Alderwoman Laura Keys' north city neighborhood. When she heard a loud noise Tuesday on her way to a police barbecue, she immediately thought her pickup truck had been struck by a bullet.

"It was so loud, I thought Oh god am I shot?" Keys said. "It was terrifying."

She felt for blood along the right side of her body but found none. She hit the gas to speed away. She was shaking so hard, she said, that her fingers couldn't dial 911. It took her a few minutes to calm down enough to call police.

Keys visits the gun range and knows what different caliber bullets sound like.

"I knew this wasn't a .22," she said. "I thought at least a .45 or maybe an assault rifle."

Police investigated the noise Keys heard on Fair Avenue about noon Tuesday. She and an office

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