Deosha Purnell was 15 when she was fatally shot on September 14, 2020, in St. Louis. She was a passenger in a car near Riverview and Spring Garden when gunfire struck her in the shoulder. A bystander who heard the shots and a car crash attempted to help, applied pressure to her wound and prayed with her before she was taken to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Family remembered Deosha as a vibrant girl who loved to make people laugh and enjoyed doing hair; her mother called her hug-a-bunch and Deosha referred to herself as Princess. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department reported witnesses saw the shooter or shooters in a blue vehicle, and their investigation remains ongoing. No arrests had been announced as of late 2025.

If anyone has information about the shooting near Riverview and Spring Garden on September 14, 2020, please come forward to help Deosha’s family find justice.