Demetrius Wagner, a 29-year-old man from St. Louis, was killed on the night of April 9, 2026, in a double homicide in Country Club Hills, Missouri, a small municipality in north St. Louis County. Police later identified the second victim as 29-year-old Alex Taylor, also from the St. Louis area. Wagner was reported to have lived in the 5600 block of Gatesworth Avenue, the same block where the shooting happened.
The violence unfolded late that Thursday evening, around 10:25 p.m., when
Country Club Hills officers were called to the 5600 block of Gatesworth Avenue for a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found Wagner and Taylor suffering from gunshot wounds. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene. The setting was a residential stretch of Gatesworth Avenue, and the discovery quickly turned the call into a double homicide investigation.
Because of the seriousness of the case, Country Club Hills police asked the St. Louis County Police Department’s Bureau of Crimes Against Persons to take over the investigation. County detectives began handling the case, but authorities released few details about what may have led to the shooting. Public reports did not describe a motive, did not say whether Wagner or Taylor were specifically targeted, and did not identify any relationship between the victims and whoever fired the shots.
As of the available reports, no suspects had been taken into custody, and no arrests or charges had been announced. Police continued to describe the investigation as active and asked the public for help. Investigators urged anyone with information to contact the St. Louis County Police Department, while those wanting to remain anonymous were directed to CrimeStoppers. The case remains one where the known facts are stark: two men were found shot to death late at night on Gatesworth Avenue, and the person or people responsible had not been publicly identified.
