On the afternoon of January 3, 2019, a midday burst of gunfire in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of St. Louis left 29-year-old David Williams Jr. dead. The shooting occurred around 1:35 p.m. in the 5600 block of Minerva Avenue. Officers who responded found two men who had died of their injuries; Williams and 44-year-old Cedric James were both pronounced dead at the scene. A third man, 39 at the time, was critically wounded and taken to a nearby hospital.

Police reports and contemporary news coverage offered few details about what led to the violence and did not identify a motive. Follow-up reports from that period did not report any arrests or charges related to the double homicide. If anyone knew David Williams Jr., Cedric James, or witnessed the shooting on Minerva Avenue that afternoon, please share what information could assist the ongoing inquiry.