Viral video shows the moment a St. Louis man shot a homeless man in the head in broad daylight

A bystander in St. Louis, Missouri, captured on cellphone video the chilling moment a man casually shot another man in the head, killing him.

Police later arrested a suspect.

The incident unfolded at about 10 a.m. Monday morning.

Investigators believe that the homeless man and the killer had an altercation at a Shell gas station on North Tucker Blvd. and Convention Plaza before the shooting. They later identified the victim as David Saldana, whom they believe was a homeless man.

Court documents said that the man first shot Saldana in the back as he ran away. Then as Saldana begged for his life, police said, the killer can be seen reloading his gun and calmly shooting the victim in the head.

Police arrested 23-year-old Deshawn Thomas about six blocks away from the murder scene as he walked into the St. Louis Public Library. He was charged with first-degree murder and jailed without bond.

The very disturbing video of the murder from cellphone footage went viral on social media with millions of views. Police said the shooting was also caught by surveillance cameras near the scene.

Brad Waldrop, a business owner in downtown St. Louis, told KMOV-TV that there had been many violent crimes at the Shell gas station in the past.

"That doesn’t surprise me at all,” Waldrop said. “There’s been 20 shootings at the shell station since 2019, and there’s been 600 calls for service. It should’ve been shut down a long time ago.”

Marcus Powell, who lives a few blocks from the scene of the murder, spoke to KTVI-TV about the shooting.

"It's frightening, I don't know, it makes me afraid for what's going on in the country, afraid for what's going on here in St. Lous," said Powell.

"It just makes me wonder what could possibly happen to me or to people that I know, people in my family," he added. "I'm from St. Louis, I like St. Louis, I think it's a great city."

Here's more about the shocking incident:

Execution-style murder in downtown St. Louis caught on videowww.youtube.com

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