In the early morning hours of July 26, 2020, a shooting in North City, St. Louis, left two people dead: 24-year-old Tobias C. Courtney Jr., a local male resident, and 61-year-old Crystal Strong-Eddins. Both victims were found at the scene with fatal gunshot wounds and St. Louis homicide detectives identified a suspect during the investigation.

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office reviewed the evidence but declined to file murder charges, citing self-defense issues that undercut the state’s ability to proceed on homicide counts. The suspect was nonetheless charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, because a prior record barred that person from carrying a weapon.

Key unresolved questions include the specific circumstances of the altercation and the evidence that led prosecutors to accept a self-defense theory rather than pursue homicide charges. Anyone with information about what happened that night in North City is asked to come forward.