On the evening of June 7, 2022, tragedy struck outside a fast-food restaurant in the Cheltenham neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Kevyn Henderson, a 23-year-old Black male, was working his shift at the McDonald’s located at 1420 Hampton Avenue when an interpersonal conflict with a colleague turned fatal. Around 8:20 p.m., a dispute reportedly erupted inside the establishment between Henderson and another employee, 19-year-old Terrence King.
The disagreement escalated to the point where the restaurant's manager intervened, escorting King out of the building in an effort to defuse the situation.
Despite being removed from the premises, King allegedly did not leave the area. Authorities stated that he waited outside the restaurant for Henderson to emerge. When Henderson eventually walked out of the building, the confrontation resumed violently. Police reports indicate that King fired multiple shots, striking Henderson in the chest. First responders arrived to find Henderson lying against a wall of the restaurant, unconscious and not breathing. He was pronounced dead at the scene, unable to survive the injuries inflicted during the ambush.
Law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting found the suspect still at the location. Terrence King was discovered standing near the victim with a firearm in his hand and was immediately taken into custody without incident. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department subsequently investigated the shooting as a homicide, noting that the violence stemmed directly from the earlier workplace altercation.
Following his arrest, prosecutors charged Terrence King with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. He was held without bail as the case moved through the judicial system. During a court hearing shortly after the incident, King entered a plea of not guilty to the charges brought against him. The case highlighted the devastating outcome of a workplace dispute that spiraled into lethal violence, cutting short the life of a young man in St. Louis.
