David Leroy Smith Jr., 40, was fatally shot just before 3:00 a.m. on August 12, 2022, inside the Sweet Timez nightclub at 5166 Martin Luther King Drive in St. Louis. Known to friends and family as 9 Lil Dave, he lived on the 7500 block of Balfour Drive in Hanley Hills. Witnesses described a dispute inside the club near the front door that was characterized as a beef in which individuals said they wanted someone dead. A witness reportedly used the DJ microphone to try to clear the building; moments later gunfire erupted.

Smith was struck multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene. The shooting spilled onto the street as patrons fled, and reports said multiple people retrieved firearms from their vehicles. Three other men were wounded and taken to hospitals. At the time of the investigation, police had not released suspect descriptions and no arrests were immediately reported.

If anyone was at Sweet Timez that night or has information about the dispute or the people involved, please share what is known.