Deonta Landrum, a 38-year-old African American male, lost his life to gun violence in Saint Louis, Missouri, on August 30, 2020. The fatal incident contributed to a particularly violent year for the city, which saw a significant rise in homicides. Landrum’s death was recorded as part of a series of violent crimes that plagued the St. Louis metropolitan area during the summer of 2020.
On the date of the incident, police responded to reports of a shooting in the northern part of the
city. While specific details regarding the exact circumstances leading up to the shooting were initially scarce, it was confirmed that Landrum sustained fatal gunshot wounds. In some reports from the timeframe corresponding to his death, a male victim was discovered inside a residence in the 6300 block of Stratford Avenue, near Goodfellow Boulevard, the following morning, though authorities did not immediately release the victim's identity. The investigation was handled by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Division, which canvassed the area for witnesses and evidence.
Despite the efforts of law enforcement, the case appears to have faced challenges common to many homicide investigations in the region, with no immediate arrests reported in the days following the discovery. The incident was listed among numerous unsolved cases from that year, highlighting the difficulties investigators face in securing cooperation and leads in such investigations. As of the available public records, no suspects have been formally charged or convicted in connection with Deonta Landrum's death, leaving the case open and the perpetrator or perpetrators at large. Family and community members have memorialized him as another tragic loss to the gun violence epidemic affecting the city.
