ST. LOUIS • It was an explosion of violence in an area not accustomed to it.

The fatal shootings May 8, 2009, of three men in an SUV outside Union Station shocked the community, raised calls for an end to the violence and concerns for the safety of the tourist and shopping destination west of downtown.

Little new information has emerged publicly. But deep in court documents is a revelation that two of the victims were targets of a joint police and FBI investigation into a drug-dealing street gang.

On Wednesday, St. Louis police said that the case remains open and that investigators do have leads.

Allen Jones, 32, Dawon Moore, 27, and Byron Blassingame, 27, had just left Club Society, 326 South 21st Street, shortly before 2:30 a.m. They were stopped at a signal on eastbound Market Street at 18th Street when a car pulled alongside and its occupants opened a flurry of fire, police said.

All three men were already known to law enforcement.

Jones, of the 3400 block of Tennessee Avenue, had convictions on drug and weapons charges.

Moore, of the 4500 block of Emerson Avenue, had prior convictions for drug, weapon and forgery crimes.

Blassingame, of the 4900 block of Alcott Avenue, spent six months on probation for a misdemeanor drug possession charge.

Blassingame and Moore's names had surfaced in an investigation into the BAD Bloods street gang — an investigation that was already a year old at the time of their deaths. The "BAD" comes from Beacon, Alcott and Davison streets in the gang's turf — the city's Walnut Park neighborhood. At least some of the roughly 53 members made their money from the sale of crack cocaine and other drugs, investigators believe.

In fact, on the day before his death, Moore had been indicted in federal court in St. Louis on four felony charges of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. The indictment was sealed and he may not have been aware of it.

Both Moore and Blassingame were spotted with assault rifles in the weeks before the shooting, according to claims in court documents.

Despite rumors that the shooting had its origins in a dispute inside the nightclub, Moore's mother, Beverly Moore, told a reporter Wednesday that she does not believe it. "He didn't have any altercations at the club," she said.

Beverly Moore claimed that her son's death was the result of a $25,000 contract killing. She said police know who the shooter was, and who paid for the killing, but "it's all hearsay."

Other relatives and friends of the victims either could not be reached for comment or did not return a reporter's messages.

Federal prosecutors and investigators have repeatedly declined to comment on the case.

Beverly Moore was skeptical of the accusations about her son's activities.

"He wasn't doing all that they say he was doing," she said. "He wasn't cartel or nothing like that."

The murders triggered a flurry of searches of homes and the seizure of weapons and small amounts of drugs.

They also prompted, or sped up, the investigation of gang members or associates.

Another alleged gang member indicted the day before the shootings, Charles James, 31, was sentenced in December to 10 years in prison.

On Wednesday, Jameel Jadallah, 29, was sentenced in federal court here to three years in prison on a drug charge. FBI Special Agent Karyn Feeney testified in court in May that she had been told that Jadallah bought the drug Ecstasy from Moore and sold it in local clubs. He also held weapons for BAD Bloods members, she said.

Antonio "Capone" Crawford, 33, described in court documents as a gang enforcer, was indicted in February on a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and was arrested June 25.

In the days immediately after the shooting, investigators heard that Moore gave Crawford an assault rifle, that he had multiple assault rifles and other weapons and that he was planning to retaliate for a May 8 shooting.

Crawford has pleaded not guilty, but is scheduled for a change of plea hearing on Sept. 9.

Police ask that anyone with information about the killings call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477.