ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man was charged Thursday in connection with a triple shooting that left a 17-year-old dead last June.
Darnell Rhodes, 20, was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and armed criminal action in connection with the shooting death of Keyon Taylor on June 15, 2023.
According to the department, officers responded at 7:16 p.m. to a shooting at Dr. Martin Luther King Drive and Burd Avenue at a Crown Mart Mobil gas station, near the border of the Hamilton Heights and Wells-Goodfellow neighborhoods.
They found a 17-year-old who was not conscious or breathing. He was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries. Police later identified him as Keyon Taylor of St. Louis.
A second victim, a 36-year-old man, was shot in the leg and drove to the 2600 block of Burd Avenue. A third person, a 30-year-old man, later showed up at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg.
Police said they received information at the scene that two groups of people started shooting at each other at the gas station.
According to charging documents, Rhodes and Keyon Taylor pulled up to the gas station when they saw "people with whom they were not friendly" inside a car at the gas station. Rhodes told police he and Taylor pulled out a gun and started shooting at the people.
Charging documents said the people shot back, striking and killing Taylor.
In an interview with police, Rhodes told police that he and Taylor shot first and that the others returned fire.
According to online court documents, Rhodes is being held without bond.
