On the night of Sunday, December 20, 2020, violence erupted in the downtown area of St. Louis, Missouri, claiming the life of a 33-year-old male named Dandre Easley. The incident occurred around 9:25 p.m. in the 400 block of Washington Avenue, a bustling thoroughfare in the city. When officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department arrived at the scene, they discovered Easley inside a vehicle, suffering from fatal gunshot wounds.
Despite the emergency response, he was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting.
The gunfire that evening also struck a second victim, a 20-year-old woman found nearby with gunshot wounds. Unlike Easley, she was conscious and breathing when first responders attended to her. She was transported to a local hospital where her condition was later described as stable. Around the same time as the fatal shooting, police received a separate call regarding shots fired into a building near Fourth Street and Washington Avenue, though investigators did not immediately confirm if the two events were connected.
Homicide detectives assumed control of the investigation, seeking to piece together the events that led to Easley's death. In the days following the shooting, no suspects were publicly identified, and law enforcement released no details regarding potential motives or arrests. The case remained an active investigation, with authorities urging anyone with information to contact the Homicide Division or CrimeStoppers. Easley, remembered in his obituary as D'Andre V. Easley Jr., left behind a large family, including children, parents, and siblings who gathered to mourn his loss at a service in East St. Louis.
