Top inset: Shakeela Martin (GoFundMe). Lower insets, from left: Marcus Evans, Kyren Farmer, and Jontez Young (Ferguson police). Background: The BP gas station in Missouri where Martin lost her life (KMOV).
A tragic incident unfolded at a Missouri gas station, where three men stand accused of taking the life of a devoted mother of five. Shakeela Martin, 35, was at the station, treating her children to slushies in celebration of their new home, when she was fatally shot.
The accused—Marcus Evans and Kyren Farmer, both 21, along with Jontez Young, 19—face serious charges, including second-degree murder, assault, and firing a weapon from a vehicle, according to police sources.
Ferguson’s Police Chief Troy Doyle emphasized that Martin was caught in the crossfire by chance and was never intended to be a target.
“There was no conflict involving her,” Doyle reported to the press. “She wasn’t in any disputes. Shakeela Martin was a loving mother who wasn’t on the streets.”
Martin was with two of her children, ages 9 and 6, at a BP gas station to buy slushies shortly before midnight on June 30. She was walking out of the store when the suspects drove up in a vehicle and opened fire. Cops say one of the suspects was involved in an argument before the shooting.
Paramedics pronounced Martin dead at the scene. A man who also was hit by the gunfire was taken to the hospital and has since been released.
“Every homicide is important, but I think these [detectives] took it a lot more personal. And the reason it was personal was because, again, a loving mother had just come out of store trying to do what a mother does in regards to taking care of kids, and she ends up deceased as a result,” the police chief said.
Investigators used surveillance video to tie a Chevrolet Malibu to the shooting and identified Evans, Farmer and Young as the suspects. Police found bullets of the same brand and caliber at Young’s home as the shell casings recovered at the scene. Evans told cops he was inside the Malibu, while Farmer admitted to being the driver, authorities said.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Price Smith promised Martin’s family her office will try everything it can to deliver justice.
“There are truly, truly no words,” she said. “A mother should be able to go to a gas station and get slushies for her children without risking violence.”
The three suspects were arrested and taken to the St. Louis Detention Center on bonds of at least $2 million. They are set to appear in court on Thursday.
A GoFundMe described Martin as a devoted mother to five beautiful children who were the center of her world.
“She was full of love, strength, and hope for the future. In a heartbreaking twist of fate, she was preparing to move her family into their new home the very next day,” the description said. “Wanting to celebrate this exciting new chapter, she took her children to get slushies at a BP gas station. What should have been a joyful family moment became an unimaginable tragedy.”
The post ‘Trying to do what a mother does’: Mom of 5 buying slushies for her kids to celebrate moving into new home shot dead in front of them, cops say first appeared on Law & Crime.