ST. LOUIS – One man has been charged after his friend was killed in a gas station shootout that they allegedly initiated.
The shooting happened just before 7:15 p.m. on June 15, 2023, at the Mobil Crown Mart gas station and convenience store on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive near Clara. Police received reports of two groups of people shooting at one another.
Police claim Darnell Rhodes, now 20, and a friend, Keyon Taylor, 17, were at the store together. When the pair went outside, they noticed a car at a gas station with people inside who they didn’t get along with.
Rhodes and Taylor took out guns and began shooting at the vehicle. The occupants in the car fired back, striking Taylor in the shoulder and buttocks. Taylor was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
Two other people were also wounded.
Police said a 36-year-old man was brought to the hospital with gunshot wounds to his leg, shoulder, and back. He survived the shooting. Investigators did not indicate if the man was involved in the shootout.
Police found the two occupants of the car, a 30-year-old man and a 19-year-old man, in the 2600 block of Burd Avenue, which is not far from the original shooting scene. The 19-year-old was uninjured, but the 30-year-old had suffered a gunshot wound to his leg.
Rhodes was later arrested and he allegedly told investigators that he and Taylor fired first.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Rhodes with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and first-degree assault. Rhodes will remain in jail pending trial.
