On the afternoon of July 4, 2022, violence erupted in the Kingsway West neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, claiming the life of 17-year-old Makahyah Griffin. The fatal incident unfolded around 4:00 p.m. near the intersection of Maffitt Avenue and Union Boulevard. Griffin was traveling in a vehicle accompanied by two adults, a 61-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman, when an unknown assailant fired shots at their car.
Following the attack, the driver navigated the vehicle away from the
scene in a desperate bid for help, traveling to a fire station located in the 5200 block of Natural Bridge Avenue. First responders attended to the teenager, who had sustained critical gunshot wounds during the ambush. He was subsequently transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead from his injuries. The other occupants of the vehicle did not sustain gunfire injuries during the assault.
Detectives from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s homicide division assumed control of the investigation. The shooting occurred amidst a violent holiday weekend, taking place less than an hour after and less than a mile away from another fatal shooting near Kingshighway and St. Louis Avenue, though authorities did not immediately link the two events. As of the initial reports following the incident, police had not released a description of a suspect, and no arrests had been announced in connection with Griffin's death.
