On the evening of July 19, 2019, tragedy struck the Lewis Place neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, when 10-year-old African American youth Eddie Hill IV was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting. The young boy was enjoying his summer break, standing on the front porch of his family's home in the 4700 block of Page Boulevard alongside his father, Eddie Hill III.
As they stood together outside, shots rang out from a passing vehicle, striking the child in the chest.
Despite the severity of his injury, the ten-year-old remained conscious immediately following the attack. As they waited for emergency responders to arrive, he was awake and speaking to his father, asking when the ambulance would come. He was rushed to a local hospital, but the medical efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and he succumbed to his injuries. His death marked a particularly violent period for the city, occurring amidst a summer where more than a dozen children lost their lives to gun violence in the St. Louis area.
In the wake of the shooting, the investigation struggled to yield immediate results. Authorities and community leaders expressed deep frustration over the 'code of silence' and the lack of cooperation that often hinders such cases. Months after the incident, Eddie’s murder remained unsolved, listed among several other child homicides for which no suspects had been taken into custody. A reward of $25,000 was offered by CrimeStoppers to encourage anyone with information to come forward, yet as of the available reports following that violent summer, no arrests had been made and no charges were filed in connection with his death.
