Police have arrested a man from St. Louis, Missouri, who they suspect is the shooter who killed a homeless man in broad daylight earlier this week. St. Louis police confirmed that they have detained 23-year-old Deshawn Thomas after he allegedly walked up to a homeless man named David Saldana near the Globe Building and nonchalantly stood over him before loading his gun and shot Saldana in the head, subsequently killing him. A nearby bystander caught the shooting on their phone and has since been widely spread on social media.
Cops were able to locate Thomas near a public library on Olive Street after he was said to have fled the scene following the shooting. Law enforcement officials say that when Thomas was arrested, they found a pistol on him and a bullet casing which were seized before he was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
DISTURBING CONTENT
Man loads gun in broad daylight and executes homeless man in St. Louis.
Democrat cities are 3rd world countries.pic.twitter.com/ipP7j8ac0p
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 28, 2023
While it remains unclear as to what Thomas’ motive was when he allegedly killed the homeless man, a number of unconfirmed reports claim that the pair had some sort of dispute at a local gas station shortly before Saldana was killed, though this has not been confirmed by police as of yet.
Brad Waldrop, who owns a local shop in the area, said he isn’t surprised by the incident that took place earlier this week, saying there have been countless shootings in the area as of late — particularly around the gas station where the quarrel was believed to have first taken place. Waldrop seemed more concerned about what changes are going to be enforced so that people won’t have to worry for their safety when leaving their homes. “What I understand is the altercation began at the Shell station,” he said. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. There have been 20 shootings at the shell station since 2019, and there’s been 600 calls for service.”
Another bystander, Syed Sajid, who arrived on the scene just minutes after the shooting expressed how people were horrified by what had happened as people were checking on the homeless man to find out whether he was still alive.
“So, it was shocking for the whole downtown. And a lot of people went up close seeing how his face looked,” he told KMOV News 4. “It’s scary, you know, of course. You get concerned about what’s going to happen to anybody else.”
According to Law & Crime, Thomas was expected to appear in court on Wednesday, and it remains unclear whether he has found an attorney to represent him in the case.