The stray bullet that killed promising high school hockey star Colin Brown was intended for drug dealers, it has emerged.
The 16-year-old and his father Calvin were driving on Interstate 55 in St. Louis while on their way home from a hockey game at the Affton Ice Rink on November 23, 2024.
At around 10.30m near Loughborough and Bates, an unexpected bullet struck the car and hit the young player. He died four days later.
Now though, according to reports, unsealed court records show that the intended target was another car.
Inside was at least one person under investigation over their alleged involvement in a drug ring.
As reported by the St Louis Post-Dispatch, an Audi pulled up behind the car on the highway and someone inside let fly with a hail of bullets.
Colin Brown, 16, died days after a stray bullet struck him while he was in a car with his father
Records reportedly show that the target vehicle was hit around 26 times but one bullet flew across the road and hit Brown.
According to reports, the documents do not shed any light on why the shooter fired from the Audi. But fresh details on Brown’s death and those involved have emerged.
The authorities unsealed a federal drug distribution indictment involving nine people, with the group accused of transporting drugs from Mexico and selling them in the St. Louis region.
During the police probe, the records show, it’s claimed thousands of dollars and ‘large quantities’ of cocaine changed hands.
As reported by the Post-Dispatch, investigators had been tracking members of the group for months by the fatal shooting. They had tapped phones and worked with informants.
On the day Brown was hit, someone identified in court documents only as ‘K.A.’ arranged to buy cocaine from a St. Louis man name Christopher Taylor.
It is said ‘K.A.’ picked up Taylor before they drove downtown. There, records show, Taylor picked up the drugs. ‘K.A.’ then dropped Taylor back home before merging on to Insterstate 55 south, where the shooting took place.
After Brown was hit, his father called the police and a young woman, Lily Paniucki, heard his cries and quickly rushed to help.
Paniucki later told First Alert 4 she performed CPR on the teen for nearly 20 minutes but was unable to revive him.
The Christian Brothers College (CBC) High School student succumbed to his injuries at the hospital on November 27.
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