Mark Demone’ Morris Jr., 26, was killed in the predawn hours of May 12, 2025, after gunfire erupted outside Club Compound on the 2200 block of Kingshighway in Washington Park, just east of St. Louis. First responders arriving after reports of shots found Morris mortally wounded in the club’s parking area; he was pronounced dead at the scene.

An off-duty Washington Park officer who was working armed security witnessed the attack and returned fire, striking the suspected gunman and ending the threat. The suspect, identified as Donovan Davis, 27, of St. Charles, Missouri, was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. St. Clair County prosecutors later charged Davis with first-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon; he was being held in the St. Clair County Jail after charges were filed.

Community posts memorialized Morris as another life lost to gun violence in East St. Louis/Washington Park. If anyone was at Club Compound that morning or has information about what happened in the parking area, please share what you know.