On the night of June 25, 2020, a violent incident unfolded in the small suburban community of Kinloch in St. Louis County, Missouri. Lawrence Franks Jr., a performer professionally known as Huey who had achieved national fame with his debut single 'Pop, Lock & Drop It,' became the target of a fatal drive-by shooting. The 32-year-old African American male was gathered with a group of approximately ten other people in the front yard of a single-family residence located on the 8100 block of Martin
Luther King Boulevard.
Just before 11:00 p.m., an unidentified vehicle traveled down the street and its occupants opened fire on the crowd. In the chaotic moments that followed, Franks was struck by at least one gunshot wound. A second individual, a 21-year-old man who was also present in the yard, was wounded during the barrage of gunfire but survived with non-life-threatening injuries. The assailants fled the scene immediately, leaving the victims behind as the gathering dispersed in panic.
Franks was transported to a local hospital in a private vehicle rather than waiting for emergency services, but medical personnel were unable to save him, and he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival. The surviving victim managed to make his way to the Ferguson Police Department before being taken to a hospital for treatment. Homicide detectives from the St. Louis County Police Department launched an investigation, noting the high number of potential witnesses at the scene. Despite the presence of others during the attack, authorities struggled to identify the shooters. No arrests were made in the immediate aftermath, and the case has seen no public reports of suspects being charged or convicted in connection with the murder.
