On the evening of July 5, 2005, Sergeant William McEntee, a 43-year-old male officer with the Kirkwood Police Department, was fatally shot while responding to a seemingly routine fireworks complaint in a St. Louis suburb. McEntee, a 20-year veteran of the force and a married father of three, was ambushed in his patrol car. The gunman, later identified as 19-year-old Kevin Johnson, approached the vehicle and opened fire, striking the sergeant multiple times. McEntee's patrol car rolled forward and crashed into a tree, after which Johnson approached again and fired several more shots.
The tragic event was reportedly motivated by Johnson's belief that McEntee was responsible for the death of his 12-year-old brother earlier that same day. The younger brother, who had a congenital heart defect, collapsed and died after suffering a seizure while officers, including McEntee, were at the family's home to serve an arrest warrant for Johnson. Johnson testified at his trial that he felt McEntee had prevented his mother from aiding his dying brother. Later that evening, upon seeing McEntee back in the neighborhood, Johnson approached the officer's car and shot him.
Following the shooting, a manhunt ensued for Kevin Johnson. He was apprehended several days later at an apartment complex in St. Louis County after investigators received a tip regarding his whereabouts. Johnson's first murder trial resulted in a mistrial. However, he was convicted of murder in his second trial in November 2007 and was subsequently sentenced to death. After years of appeals, which included claims of racial bias in the sentencing, Kevin Johnson was executed by lethal injection on November 29, 2022.
