A St. Louis man was charged with first-degree murder in connection with a brazen sidewalk killing, an episode that a witness captured on video that was widely shared on social media. Deshawn Thomas, 23, was arrested as he tried to enter a nearby library a few hours after he had fired one shot at the head of a man who was sitting on a curb in downtown St. Louis, said Police detective Marco Christlieb. The shooting, which occurred around 10 a.m., shocked many people who saw the 45-second video clip of the encounter online. The video shows a man in yellow pointing a gun at a man sitting on a curb. The man appears to load the gun before pointing it at the head of the other and firing.
Police said Thomas and the victim had been fighting that morning at a nearby gas station before the shooting. Thomas ran off after the shooting, and the police caught up with him about 2:40 p.m. The killing came a week after the St. Louis circuit attorney, Kim Gardner, faced criticism after a teenage volleyball player lost both of her legs in a vehicle crash that the authorities said had been caused by a man who was awaiting trial on robbery charges. Gardner said her office had tried several times to revoke the man’s bond. On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO.), shared on Twitter the video showing Monday’s fatal St. Louis street shooting and used it to cast blame on Gardner.