My sister and her family have lived in Florissant for 20+ years. We've spent many summer vacations in her back yard, and she doesn't live that far from where the incident took place.
She lives in a really nice area, but I've noticed the last few times I've visited that the 'nice' area she lives in is shrinking around her. The last time I went (about a year ago), I could hardly recognize the commercial areas only a couple of miles from her neighborhood.
I think a lot of folks have a poor opinion of St. Louis (not sure why, but anytime I mentioned to others I was traveling to St. Louis, they would reply with a "ugh, why?", or "really?!"). In reality, it's a great city. If you're a sports fan, you're covered (from pro to high school sports), and there's so much to see/do in the area. To this day, the best 4th of July I've ever had was at the VP Fair, watching fireworks over the arch on the river.