Alexander J Thomas

In the late afternoon warmth of a mid-August day in St. Louis, a gold vehicle sat silently in the 5600 block of Hiller Place, its journey abruptly ended. The car had come to a rest after striking an unoccupied parked vehicle, a minor collision that belied the grim reality within. Responding to a call for a shooting just before 3 p.m. on Monday, August 15, 2016, police officers would soon uncover a scene of violence that had claimed the life of a young man.

Inside the quieted car, they fou ...