What are the charges against DeShawn Thomas? Suspect arrested over shooting homeless man in St. Louis

DeShawn Thomas, a 23-year-old man, was arrested for murder on Monday, February 27, 2023, after he was caught on video shooting a homeless man in broad daylight in downtown St. Louis.

A day after the arrest, Thomas was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for shooting David Saldana at point-blank range on a sidewalk with witnesses at the scene.

As per authorities, on Monday morning, a verbal altercation between the two men at a nearby Shell gas station culminated in the death of David Saldana, who was unarmed when he was shot twice - once in the back and again in the head - by the suspect.

---

DeShawn Thomas fled the scene after the shooting

As per KSDK, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said that officers responded to reports of a shooting in the 700 block of North Tucker Boulevard shortly before 10 am. Upon arrival, officers found David Saldana, a homeless man shot in the head by a suspect, DeShawn Thomas, who had fled the scene.

Officers then uncovered video footage of the incident, which was documented by a bystander who witnessed the crime. After reviewing the footage and interviewing the witnesses, police discovered that the suspect and the victim were involved in a verbal fight shortly before the shooting.

The suspect was then identified after he was caught on video shooting the victim in the back and then loading the gun before firing a shot into the head as Saldana pleaded for his life.

Hours after the incident, a patrol officer spotted Thomas in the area at 2:30 pm on Monday and immediately called for backup before apprehending the suspect, who was found with a weapon and shell casings.

Video footage that captured the horrifying incident started making rounds on social media despite multiple attempts by Twitter to take down the disturbing content.

People across the board have now expressed concern about the audacious aspect of the crime where a suspect murdered an unarmed individual on a busy road in broad daylight.

Missouri State Senator Ben Brown, a Republican who represents Franklin and Gasconade, spoke to KDSK after receiving several distressing complaints about the incident. He said:

"I had somebody that sent it to me, saying that they were just in tears and just asking like, can the Senate do something? It was just blocks from city hall and broad daylight."

The senator said that in recent times, with the growing violence in the country, people have become reckless to an extent where they feel they can attack people without fear of any consequence.

"There is always going to be crime to some extent but I don't remember ever seeing the kind of boldness that we're seeing right now or people feeling they can go out in broad daylight in public and the horrific scene, execute somebody right on the street."

Meanwhile, DeShawn Thomas is being held in jail while he awaits a preliminary hearing.