On an autumn evening in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the life of 23-year-old Emmett L. Wilson-Shaw, a Black male, was cut short by gunfire. On October 15, 2015, at approximately 7 p.m., Wilson-Shaw was walking with friends across the Earl Street Bridge, which spans over Phalen Boulevard in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood. It was then that a car approached, and shots were fired, striking Wilson-Shaw.
Paramedics who arrived at the scene were unable to save him and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting quickly focused on the possibility of a drive-by attack. Authorities delved into Wilson-Shaw's past, noting his association with the East Side Boyz gang, where he was considered a high-ranking member. Despite this affiliation, those close to him conveyed that he was attempting to leave that life behind, weary of the violence that had previously touched his life. His father mentioned that his son was tired of the constant conflict and yearned for a more peaceful existence. This tragic event was not the first time violence had struck the Wilson-Shaw family; his 15-year-old brother had been murdered in 2008.
Within a week of the shooting, the Saint Paul police made arrests in connection with Wilson-Shaw's death, which was one of three homicides to occur on the city's East Side in a five-day span. One of the suspects, Dametrius Ratheal Adrian Moore, was charged with second-degree murder. According to the criminal complaint, Moore was the driver of the vehicle from which the fatal shots were fired. He admitted to driving the car but claimed he was unaware that a shooting was going to take place.
Another man, Dearies C. Collins, was also arrested and faced charges of second-degree murder, accused of being the gunman who fired the shots that killed Wilson-Shaw. The motive for the shooting was believed to be rooted in a rivalry between street gangs. The criminal complaint detailed how the car Moore was driving passed Wilson-Shaw and his friends, turned around, and then slowed as a passenger in the back fired multiple shots.
