Three Missouri men face charges in the fatal shooting of a 35-year-old mother of five who was buying slushies for her children at a gas station to celebrate moving into a new home, police said.
Marcus Evans and Kyren Farmer, both 21, and Jontez Young, 19, are charged with second-degree murder, assault and discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle in the death of Shakeela Martin, according to Ferguson police.
Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle said Martin was not the intended target of the shooting.
“She wasn’t involved in any type of argument. She wasn’t involved in any type of dispute,” Doyle told reporters. “She wasn’t out in the streets. She’s just a good, loving mother.”
Martin was with two of her children, ages 9 and 6, at a BP gas station shortly before midnight on June 30 when the shooting occurred. Police said she was walking out of the store when the suspects drove up in a vehicle and opened fire. One of the suspects had been involved in an argument before the gunfire erupted, authorities said.
Paramedics pronounced Martin dead at the scene. A man who also was struck by gunfire was taken to a hospital and has since been released.
“Every homicide is important, but I think these [detectives] took it a lot more personal. And the reason it was personal was because, again, a loving mother had just come out of store trying to do what a mother does in regards to taking care of kids, and she ends up deceased as a result,” the police chief said.
Investigators used surveillance video to link a Chevrolet Malibu to the shooting and identified Evans, Farmer and Young as suspects, police said. Officers recovered bullets of the same brand and caliber at Young’s home that matched shell casings found at the scene. Evans told detectives he was inside the Malibu, while Farmer admitted to being the driver, authorities said.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Price Smith pledged her office would pursue justice for Martin’s family.
“There are truly, truly no words,” she said. “A mother should be able to go to a gas station and get slushies for her children without risking violence.”
The three suspects were arrested and taken to the St. Louis Detention Center on bonds of at least $2 million. They are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
A GoFundMe account described Martin as a devoted mother to five children who were the center of her world.
“She was full of love, strength, and hope for the future. In a heartbreaking twist of fate, she was preparing to move her family into their new home the very next day,” the description read. “Wanting to celebrate this exciting new chapter, she took her children to get slushies at a BP gas station. What should have been a joyful family moment became an unimaginable tragedy.”
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