A 32-year-old St. Louis man is jailed without bond after police say he tried to rob a wheelchair user in the lobby of a Mark Twain neighborhood apartment complex, only to be shot with his own stolen firearm during the ensuing struggle. Randall T. Taylor now faces first-degree robbery, armed criminal action, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the confrontation.
According to Fox 2, police were dispatched to a reported shooting at an apartment complex in the 5300 block of North Euclid Avenue. Investigators say Taylor and the wheelchair user argued in the building's front lobby before the confrontation turned physical, with the entire episode captured by the building's CCTV system.
Per the outlet's account, Taylor allegedly followed the wheelchair user and demanded he surrender his gun before the two struggled and fell to the floor. The wheelchair user attempted to roll away, but Taylor got to his feet, retrieved his firearm, and pointed it at him, at which point police say the confrontation became a robbery.
Victim Says He Fired in Self-Defense
The wheelchair user has admitted to shooting Taylor, telling police he acted in self-defense as Taylor pointed the weapon at him during the struggle, the same report states. Taylor suffered gunshot wounds to his bicep and thigh and later identified the wheelchair user to police as the person who shot him. After the shooting, Taylor ran away with the wheelchair user's gun, according to the account relayed to police.
Investigators say Taylor had stolen that same Smith and Wesson firearm from the wheelchair user's home weeks earlier, on July 5, 2026 — meaning the weapon used against him during the robbery attempt was allegedly his own, taken from him before he ever confronted its owner in the lobby.
Charges and Sentencing Exposure
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office has charged Taylor with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. Under Missouri Revised Statutes § 570.023, first-degree robbery is a Class A felony when a perpetrator forcibly steals property while armed with a deadly weapon or threatens its immediate use, carrying a potential sentence ranging from 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment.
The armed criminal action charge carries additional weight. Under Missouri Revised Statutes § 571.015, that count comes with a mandatory minimum of three years in prison without eligibility for probation, parole, or conditional release, a term that must be served consecutively to any sentence on the underlying felony. Meanwhile, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is generally a Class C felony carrying up to seven years under Missouri Revised Statutes § 571.070, though that penalty escalates to a Class B felony punishable by 5 to 15 years if the offender has a prior conviction for a dangerous felony.
Missouri's Self-Defense Law and the Initial Aggressor Rule
Missouri's self-defense statute, RSMo § 563.031, allows individuals facing imminent unlawful force to use physical or deadly force without any duty to retreat, in any location where they have a lawful right to be, provided they reasonably believe such force is necessary to prevent death, serious injury, or a forcible felony such as robbery. That same statute explicitly strips initial aggressors of the right to claim self-defense unless they have completely withdrawn from the encounter and effectively communicated that withdrawal — a provision that would bar Taylor from claiming self-defense in the confrontation he allegedly instigated.
Taylor is scheduled for a confined docket hearing on September 8, and a preliminary hearing has been set for September 30. He remains jailed without bond.
A Neighborhood With a Troubled Recent History
The Mark Twain neighborhood corridor has seen repeated violent firearm incidents in recent months. In August 2025, the 5300 block of North Euclid Avenue was the site of a fatal double shooting that led prosecutors to charge a 38-year-old man with first-degree murder and assault, according to KSDK.
Just weeks before Taylor's arrest, St. Louis police charged two men with 12 felonies after a multi-day armed robbery spree near Thekla and Queens avenues in the same neighborhood, during which suspects stole cash, vehicles, and a victim's firearm, as Hoodline reported at the time. Earlier this month, a 53-year-old man was also charged with second-degree robbery for allegedly beating a double amputee and stealing property in North St. Louis, reflecting a pattern of violent thefts targeting physically vulnerable residents across the district.
Despite these incidents, St. Louis has recorded a broader downward trend in robbery overall. Council on Criminal Justice data show reported robbery rates in the city dropped by 58% between 2018 and mid-2025, a decline roughly double the national average over that period. Missouri has also allowed permitless concealed carry for most adults 19 and older since 2017, though state and federal law continue to bar convicted felons from possessing firearms.
