In the afternoon hours of a late December day in Saint Louis, Missouri, a tragedy unfolded that would cut short the life of Mallam Amir Tifah, a 45-year-old Black / African American male. On December 28, 2020, in the Lewis Place neighborhood, the sound of gunfire shattered the calm on the 4500 block of Newberry Terrace. When officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department arrived at approximately 2:39 p.m., they discovered Tifah lying on the ground, having sustained multiple gunshot
wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, a victim of a brutal and targeted attack.
The investigation into the homicide quickly pointed to a familiar face, Anwar Shands, Tifah's own cousin. Witnesses reported seeing the 39-year-old Shands, clad in a red hoodie, fire numerous shots at Tifah before fleeing into a nearby house. In a chilling detail that emerged during the investigation, it was revealed that Tifah had managed to call 911 after the initial shots were fired. The dispatcher on the line tragically heard the subsequent volley of gunfire as Shands shot his cousin in the back. An examination by the medical examiner would later confirm that Tifah had been shot nine times, with the majority of the wounds being to his back. Shortly after the incident, Shands was apprehended by law enforcement. Police later discovered a burned red hoodie behind a residence close to the scene of the crime.
Following a thorough investigation by homicide detectives, Anwar Shands was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. The case proceeded to a bench trial, where Judge Lynne R. Perkins heard the evidence presented against him. In October 2025, Shands, then 43, was found guilty of both charges in the killing of his cousin. His sentencing was scheduled to take place in December 2025, bringing a measure of legal closure to a violent act that ended a life and irrevocably impacted a family.
