On the night of Wednesday, December 2, 2020, 32-year-old St. Louis resident James Barnett Jr. was found dead from a gunshot wound in a grassy median in the 2900 block of North Florissant Avenue in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

St. Louis police publicly identified Barnett in the days after the shooting and asked the community for information, but investigators reported no immediate leads or suspects. The case was one of many homicides that contributed to a marked rise in violent crime in the city that year. The investigation remains open and there have been no arrests announced; the circumstances surrounding his death are still largely unknown.

If anyone has information that could help shed light on what happened to James Barnett Jr., please come forward to the authorities.