Casty St. Louis, a 20-year-old African American male, was tragically gunned down on September 12, 2014, near his girlfriend's apartment in Raleigh, North Carolina. The incident occurred just before 7 p.m. at the River Birch apartment complex playground, where residents, including children, witnessed the shooting. St. Louis had been out of the Wake County Detention Center for less than two hours, having spent three weeks there for drug-related convictions.
He had gone to the River Birch complex to take a shower and get ready to visit his mother and grandmother.
Eyewitnesses reported that the shooter was a male in a car with another young man and a young female behind the wheel. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, St. Louis was pronounced dead at the scene. The Raleigh police launched an investigation into the murder, and on September 14, 2014, they arrested Darius Lamont Watkins, a 19-year-old African American male, in connection with the shooting. Watkins was charged with murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon and was held in the Wake County Detention Center without bond.
Further investigation revealed that Adrian Lamar Oden, a 22-year-old African American male, was also involved in the incident. Oden was charged with robbing St. Louis of $800 worth of cash and marijuana. The case highlighted the tragic loss of a young man who had shown great potential as a standout running back for Raleigh's Word of God Christian Academy and Wake Forest-Rolesville High School. Family, friends, and the community mourned the loss of St. Louis, who had dreams of playing college football but faced financial challenges. The investigation into his death continued, with the community calling for justice and an end to the violence that claimed the life of a promising young man.
