Sharita Brooks: 30-Year-Old St. Louis Mother Shot Dead While Infant In Car
Sharita Brooks, 30, was shot in the head while giving a man a ride home while her 8-month-old daughter was in the backseat. Police found her body in the car on Monday, January 18, 2021. The child was unharmed.
Local authorities are trying to figure out why Sharita Brooks, 30, was targeted after she was fatally shot in St. Louis County, Missouri, while purportedly giving a man a ride home.
Police say the alleged gunman is 31-year-old Andre Buckingham, who appeared at Brooks' University City home late night on Sunday, January 17, 2021.
Agreeing to take him home, Brooks drove Buckingham with her 1-year-old infant in the backseat as well.
Brooks was so on edge during the ride, that she called a friend because she feared for her safety, authorities said.
While they approached the area where Buckingham lived, things took a turn for the worse.
While the car was in park and the engine running, Buckingham allegedly shot Brooks in the head while she was in the driver’s seat, police said.
The child was unharmed, according to police, who responded to the incident, where they found Brooks in the parked vehicle with at least one gunshot wound.
“We have a 30-year-old woman. We have no ties to that immediate vicinity there. We’re not sure why she was in that area to begin with,” said officer Tracy Panus, with the St. Louis County Police Department, told WKBN TV.
Buckingham is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.
Police ask anyone with information about this murder to call St. Louis County police at 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
