On November 30, 2010, a violent altercation erupted outside the Reliable Funeral Home on Washington Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri, disrupting the services for David Davis, a local man who had been murdered weeks prior. Among the mourners was 31-year-old African-American male Jason Lavon Finney, also known to friends and family as 'J Slim,' who attended the service alongside his cousin, Trevlan Glass.
Tensions flared during the ceremony when an argument broke out between Finney, Glass, and a third individual, identified by authorities only as a 35-year-old male acquaintance of the pair.
The dispute escalated quickly and spilled out onto the street in front of the chapel, where the verbal confrontation turned into a shootout. According to investigators, the three men drew weapons and exchanged gunfire at close range. In the ensuing chaos, both Jason Finney and Trevlan Glass sustained multiple gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead, marking a tragic double homicide at a site intended for mourning. The 35-year-old man involved in the exchange was also struck multiple times and was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. Witnesses reported seeing a fourth individual who may have been wounded in the crossfire fleeing the scene on foot, though this person was never publicly identified or located by law enforcement.
In the immediate aftermath, St. Louis police initially characterized the shooting as gang-related, a statement they later retracted as the investigation progressed. The violence of the event had a ripple effect on the community, with the families of Finney and Glass struggling to find a funeral home willing to host their services due to fears of further retaliation; eventually, Mount Zion Baptist Church agreed to hold the joint funeral. Despite the presence of numerous witnesses and the survival of the third gunman, reports from as recently as 2022 indicate that the case remains open with no convictions on record, and authorities continue to appeal to the public for information that could bring closure to the grieving families.
