VIDEO: St. Louis man arrested for execution-style shooting of homeless victim

A St. Louis man was arrested for an execution-style shooting of a homeless man sitting on a sidewalk in downtown St. Louis in broad daylight on Monday. 

The shooting took place on Monday at around 10:00 a.m. outside 710 N Tucker Boulevard in front of the Globe Building. 

A video of the shooting was captured on camera by a witness and has since gone viral. The 45-second footage shows a man walking on the sidewalk, loading a gun, and pointing it at a man sitting on the curb covering his ears. He then shoots the homeless man at point-blank range.  

As the video ends, witnesses can be heard calling 911 to report the shooting.

“It’s scary, you know, of course. You get concerned about what’s going to happen to anybody else,” said Syed Sajid, who owns a shop across from where the incident happened.

“When I came here, I’d seen people standing outside, the guy was on the ground. I heard he was shot from close range.”

“Yeah, there were the construction guys in that building. There were works from the other building. So, it was shocking for the whole downtown. And a lot of people went up close seeing how his face looked,” Sajid added.

Deshawn Thomas, 23, was arrested in connection to the shooting. He faces charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. It is unclear if he has a criminal record.

Police are still investigating the incident and trying to determine probable cause. It is unclear if the two men knew each other. 

Witnesses told police that there had been a small altercation between the two men near the Shell gas station across the street moments before the shooting.