St. Louis police arrested a man on Tuesday after a video showing him shooting a homeless man point blank in broad daylight went viral on social media.
Police arrested 23-year-old Deshawn Thomas in connection with the murder.
Part of the incident was caught on a cell phone camera, and Thomas appeared to be struggling to load his handgun while standing a few feet away from the homeless man sitting peacefully on the curb. The video then pans away as a gunshot rings out.
The victim also appeared to raise his arms just before the shooting, but he did not run away, fight or beg for his life. The victim, later identified by authorities as David Saldana, seemed resigned to the fact that he would die that day.
The video ends just after the witness who shot the video was heard gasping and saying that the shooter had just killed the homeless man.
Responding officers found Saldana dead on the curb at around 10 am on Monday, February 27.
The St. Louis Police Department said the shooter and the victim had an altercation at a nearby Shell Gas station some minutes before the fatal shooting.
Thomas ran from the scene before the police could get there but was spotted by a police officer near a local library some hours later. Police took Thomas into custody without incident.
Arresting officers recovered a gun and bullet casings from him. Authorities charged him with murder in the first degree and armed criminal action.
A video of the killing went viral on social media despite many attempts by companies like Twitter to take it down.
The Twitter user who originally posted the video reposted it after Twitter took it down.
Major Ryan Cousins said it was unnerving that the murder happened in broad daylight with witnesses around.
Senator Josh Hawley also retweeted the video and called for St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner’s resignation.
Before Monday’s shooting incident, Gardner was under heavy fire after a driver, known to have committed numerous violations on his bail terms after he was charged with robbery, caused a car accident that hit a teenage athlete causing her to get both legs amputated.
