A man was shot and killed in Wellston, Missouri, early Monday, with the violence unfolding on a residential block that has now seen two fatal shootings in six years. Officers found him suffering from gunshot wounds just after 2 a.m. and rushed him to a hospital, but he did not survive.
According to First Alert 4, the shooting happened around 2 a.m. Monday in the 1500 block of Ben McLemore III Place. North County Cooperative Police Department officers initially responded to the call and discovered the man with gunshot wounds at the scene. He was taken to a hospital for treatment, but ultimately died from his injuries.
The police cooperative has since handed the case over to St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives, the station's report notes. No suspects are currently in custody, and the investigation remains active. Police have not provided a motive for the shooting, per Riverbender.
A Painfully Familiar Address
Monday's shooting is not the first time the 1500 block of Ben McLemore III Place has been the scene of a deadly gun crime. On Aug. 4, 2020, officers found 43-year-old Kelly Wright deceased from a gunshot wound at the same address, according to a Major Case Squad investigation report. In that earlier case, the North County Police Cooperative requested assistance from the Major Case Squad to investigate Wright's death, the report states.
Records from the squad's own case archive confirm that the 2020 shooting occurred at that same block in Wellston. It remains unclear whether any connection exists between the two cases beyond their shared location, and nothing in the record of Monday's shooting ties it to the earlier killing.
Part of a Broader Downward Trend
Monday's shooting comes even as homicide numbers across the St. Louis region have been trending sharply downward. Homicides in the city of St. Louis during the first half of 2026 hit their lowest levels since 2014, according to St. Louis Public Radio. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department reported 63 homicides through June 30, compared with 71 during the same period in 2025.
That total is down 40% from the city's recent peak in 2020, when 105 people were killed over the same stretch of the year, St. Louis Public Radio reports. St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy has said guns remain the overwhelming driver of the violence that does occur, noting that about 90% of the city's murders are committed with firearms. The outlet also points to a national Council on Criminal Justice review that found a 21% reduction in the rate of reported homicides in 2025 compared with 2024.
Anyone with information about Monday's shooting is asked to contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210. Those who wish to remain anonymous or are seeking a potential reward can call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477).
