Kimberly Ratliff-Penton, a 46-year-old Black woman, was enjoying an evening out with her best friend when her life was tragically taken. On Monday, June 22, 2020, Ratliff-Penton was at an Applebee's restaurant in St. John, Missouri, when a fellow customer suddenly turned violent. Witnesses later testified that the man had been having a normal conversation with his own family and friends and showed no signs of agitation before the attack.
Just after 9:15 p.m., the man left the restaurant,
only to return and open fire. He walked to the table where Ratliff-Penton and her friend, Lakeshia Finch, were sitting and shot them both. He then moved to another part of the restaurant and shot a third woman, an off-duty firefighter. Ratliff-Penton was fatally wounded in what authorities described as a random attack. Finch was paralyzed from the waist down, and the firefighter was critically injured. There was no known connection between the shooter and any of the victims.
Police quickly took a suspect into custody. Courtney Demond Washington, a 28-year-old from the nearby city of St. Ann, was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of assault, and three counts of armed criminal action. Throughout the investigation, a clear motive for the devastating and unprovoked shooting remained elusive to law enforcement.
In January 2026, Courtney Demond Washington went on trial for the attack. A St. Louis County jury convicted him of second-degree murder in the death of Kimberly Ratliff-Penton.
Those who knew Kimberly Ratliff-Penton remembered her as a cherished wife and a loving mother to two sons. Her husband recalled that their last conversation before she left for the evening was filled with expressions of love. A proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., she was described by friends as a beautiful and sweet woman. Her sudden and violent death left her family, friends, and community in mourning.
