On a Wednesday afternoon in July 2020, 21-year-old Jaquan Steed went to the Saint Louis Galleria mall with friends to buy shoes. A recent graduate of Hazelwood Central High School, Steed had been working in the dietary department at Saint Louis University Hospital for the past two years. His family described him as an 'outstanding child' and the youngest of seven, a 'kid at heart' who was innocent and had high expectations.
While inside the mall, an argument broke out between Steed's
group and another group of people on the second floor near a pair of escalators. The dispute escalated, and gunfire erupted in the crowded shopping center. Steed was fatally shot in the head and died at the scene, while a friend of his was shot in the arm and later released from the hospital. The incident caused chaos, sending mall patrons scrambling for safety.
The day after the shooting, police arrested 18-year-old Jaron Lemmitt in connection with the incident. He was found hiding in a hotel room. Authorities charged Lemmitt with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and two counts of armed criminal action, holding him on a $1 million cash-only bond. The investigation was aided by surveillance footage and eyewitnesses, including Lemmitt's own father, who identified him from a still photo circulated by the police. A firearm recovered from the parking lot where Lemmitt was seen running was also forensically matched to the shell casings found at the scene.
However, the legal proceedings took a significant turn in January 2022. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office announced it was dropping all charges against Jaron Lemmitt. The prosecutor stated that newly available surveillance video provided 'unmistakable evidence' that Lemmitt had acted in self-defense. According to the prosecutor's office, the video showed Jaquan Steed initiating the fatal confrontation by rushing down an escalator and assaulting Lemmitt. Furthermore, witnesses reported that it was Steed who had originally produced the gun that Lemmitt then managed to take and use in the shooting. Based on this evidence, the judge dismissed the murder and armed criminal action charges related to Steed's death, as well as the assault and armed criminal action charges related to the other man who was shot, as that individual refused to cooperate with the investigation.
