In the fall of 2018, tragedy struck a St. Louis family not once, but twice in as many days, leaving them reeling from a devastating loss. On the evening of October 29th, 27-year-old Cedric Bennett attended a vigil to mourn the recent passing of his niece's boyfriend, Demetrise Thomas. The gathering, held near 20th and St. Charles Streets in downtown St.
Louis, was meant to be a moment of collective grief and remembrance for Thomas, who had been killed the day before while reportedly trying to prevent a car break-in.
As mourners stood together, a dark-colored SUV approached the somber assembly. Without warning, multiple gunshots were fired from the vehicle into the crowd, turning a scene of sorrow into one of chaos and terror. In the hail of bullets, four individuals were struck. Cedric Bennett was fatally wounded and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Three other people sustained injuries in the brazen attack. The motive for the drive-by shooting remains unclear, leaving a community shaken and a family shattered by a second violent death in just two days.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department launched an investigation into the murder of Cedric Bennett. While authorities released surveillance footage of a man and a woman wanted in connection with the killing of Demetrise Thomas, they have not established a link between those individuals and the subsequent shooting at the vigil. To date, no arrests have been made in the killing of Cedric Bennett. The case remains an open investigation as his family and the community continue to await answers and seek justice for his untimely death.
