On December 15, 2024, a violent sequence of events unfolded in the Kingsway East neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, claiming the life of 22-year-old Kyle Daniel Fitzgerald, a Caucasian resident of House Springs. Shortly after midnight, officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department were dispatched to the 4900 block of St. Louis Avenue following reports of gunfire. Upon their arrival, they discovered Fitzgerald suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.
Emergency medical personnel rushed him to a nearby hospital for urgent treatment, but despite their efforts, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
The investigation revealed that the incident originated near a convenience store and gas station at the intersection of Kingshighway Boulevard and St. Louis Avenue. Witnesses and surveillance footage indicated that a confrontation began as a robbery or an argument between Fitzgerald and another individual. As the situation escalated, the other man walked away toward an abandoned property across the street. Fitzgerald reportedly attempted to chase the individual, at which point the suspect turned and fired a weapon. Security cameras captured the muzzle flashes and the subsequent shooting that left the young man mortally wounded.
Police identified the gunman as 31-year-old Deandre M. Johnson, who was seen on video inside the gas station armed with a firearm shortly before the shooting occurred. When investigators presented Johnson with still images from the security footage, he identified himself. He was subsequently arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Johnson was already in custody for an unrelated homicide at the time these new charges were brought against him.
In July 2025, the legal proceedings against Johnson concluded when he entered a guilty plea. Prosecutors amended the first-degree murder charge to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement, and Johnson also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon. A St. Louis circuit judge accepted the terms, sentencing Johnson to fifteen years in prison for the manslaughter charge and a concurrent ten-year term for the weapons violation. The resolution brought a final legal closing to the tragic night that cut short the life of the young aspiring musician known to his friends and family as 'K-Money.'
