On the night of Sunday, December 20, 2020, violence in downtown St. Louis claimed the life of 33-year-old Dandre Easley. Officers found Easley about 9:25 p.m. in a vehicle in the 400 block of Washington Avenue with fatal gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene. A 20-year-old woman was also shot nearby and was conscious and breathing when first responders arrived; she was taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Around the same time police received a separate report of shots fired into a building near Fourth Street and Washington Avenue, but investigators did not immediately say whether that incident was connected to the vehicle shooting. Homicide detectives took charge of the investigation and, in the days after the shooting, no suspects, motives, or arrests were publicly identified. Easley, listed in his obituary as D'Andre V. Easley Jr., was survived by children, parents, and siblings who held a service in East St. Louis.

Anyone who knew Easley or who has information about the shooting is asked to contact the Homicide Division or CrimeStoppers.