On the evening of July 5, 2018, 30-year-old Rachaud Grayer was shot and killed in the parking lot of M&A Market in the 4200 block of Natural Bridge Avenue in St. Louis’ North City. Witnesses and investigators say Grayer tried to disengage from an argument and was walking away when the gunman opened fire, striking him in the back. Emergency responders arrived about 7:45 p.m.; Grayer was pronounced dead at the scene.

Grayer was a father to three biological children and two stepchildren. His father, Richard Grayer, described him as non-combative and devoted to family. About nine days later, on July 14, 2018, police arrested 36-year-old Talib Ziyad in an unrelated bus shooting death; detectives say Ziyad confessed during questioning to the July 5 killing and was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in Grayer’s death as well as identical charges in the other case. The two victims were reportedly unconnected and the killings treated as separate acts.