On a spring evening in Kinloch, what began as a lively block party with nearly 200 people gathered in the 5500 block of Mable Avenue took a tragic turn. It was May 7, 2021, when gunfire erupted, shattering the festive atmosphere and leaving chaos in its wake. When the shooting ceased, five men had been struck by bullets.
Among the victims was 38-year-old Eddie Wilkerson, a resident of unincorporated St. Louis County.
He, along with the other wounded individuals, was rushed to a local hospital. Tragically, Eddie Wilkerson and another man, 18-year-old Montrez Hughes, succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced dead. Three other men survived the shooting with non-life-threatening injuries.
In the aftermath of the violence, an investigation led by the St. Louis County Police Department's Bureau of Crimes Against Persons began. Their efforts resulted in the identification of two suspects: Arttavis Farrell, 31, and Akeem Sims, 19. Both men were subsequently charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of Wilkerson and Hughes. In addition to the murder charges, Farrell and Sims each face three counts of assault, six counts of armed criminal action, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.
