A routine ride home turned deadly for 55-year-old Shirley Johnson on March 31, 2026, in the Kingsway West neighborhood of St. Louis. Johnson was sitting in a car with her grandson, Markel McCurry, after a trip to a corner store when the vehicle allegedly backed into a neighbor’s car in the 5100 block of Cote Brilliante Avenue. What began as a minor property dispute escalated almost immediately into gunfire; Johnson was struck in the back while still inside the vehicle, taken to a hospital, and pronounced dead after arrival.

Investigators say 32-year-old Jamal A. Jones admitted firing the shot and allegedly told police he shot to intimidate McCurry and that he would rather have shot McCurry than Johnson. McCurry reportedly restrained Jones until officers arrived. Jones was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and related counts. McCurry described Johnson as the person who helped hold his life together after his mother died and recalled her everyday care and cooking that made her absence keenly felt.

Did anyone in Kingsway West see the disturbance that night or have information about the sequence of events outside the home?