Inset, top: Shakeela Martin (GoFundMe). Bottom insets, from left: Marcus Evans, Kyren Farmer and Jontez Young (Ferguson police). Background: The BP gas station in Missouri where Martin was killed (KMOV).
Three Missouri men are accused of fatally shooting a 35-year-old mother of five who was at a gas station buying slushies for her children to celebrate moving into a new home.
Marcus Evans and Kyren Farmer, both 21, and Jontez Young, 19, are facing charges of second-degree murder, assault and discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle in the death of Shakeela Martin, police said.
Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle said Martin was not the intended target of the shooting.
"She wasn't involved in any type of argument. She wasn't involved in any type of dispute," Doyle told reporters. "She wasn't out in the streets. She's just a good, loving mother."
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."