ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — St. Louis County police have identified the 14-year-old boy shot and killed while allegedly committing a crime in Jennings, Sunday.
Damaurio Thomas lived in the 5100 block of Lexington Avenue.
Police say he and another unidentified person tried to carjack a man in the parking lot of a convenience store/gas station Sunday afternoon. Police said Thomas was armed, but so was the man they tried to carjack. The gas station is located at the intersection of Jennings Station Road and Lewis and Clark Boulevard.
The 53-year-old shot Thomas. When police arrived, they said Thomas attempted to run away. After being caught, he was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
Marlon Wharton is founder of a St. Louis group known as Gentlemen of Vision, which attempts to intervene in the lives of young people.
“We’re trying to catch some of these guys before they get with the wrong crowd,” said Wharton. “They are intelligent young men a lot of times. They are gifted in different ways, but because there is nobody investing that time and energy into them, they get with the wrong groups and crowds and make bad decisions.”
Wharton said his group provides twice weekly mentoring to young men to make sure they graduate from high school. They now have 75 young men in the program – half in middle schools, half in high schools.
“What we’re known for is our step team, because we’re number 1 in the nation,” said Wharton. “So pretty much a child will come into our program with their grades wherever they are. We will help set the goals with them as to what we need the grades to be in order to travel and be a part of our organization. It’s their job to meet that. And a lot of times because of the rigor and demand of the program they’re able to turn their grades around.”
St. Louis County police said the carjacking victim was taken into police custody without incident and is cooperating with the investigation. There is no indication yet on whether he will face charges.
