New video appears to contradict police account in St. Louis shooting

Newly released body-camera video has put a fresh spotlight on the death of Emeshyon Wilkins, a 17-year-old who was shot and killed by a St. Louis police officer on June 18, 2024. The footage appears to show Wilkins running away when he was shot in the back of the head, and it does not show him holding or pointing a gun, raising new questions about a case his family says has been clouded by delay and secrecy.

Police said the shooting followed a pursuit of a stolen Mazda SUV in north St. Louis. Officers tracked the vehicle from the Baden neighborhood into Penrose, then into the Ville neighborhood, where the fatal encounter unfolded near Whittier Street and Maffitt Avenue. The family’s lawsuit, filed May 7, 2025, says Wilkins had a disassembled firearm in his pocket that could not have been fired and alleges the officer fired four shots, striking him once in the back of the head.

Shaina Wilkins has spent nearly two years pressing for answers and accountability. She has said the family was not given prompt access to accurate information and described the pain of seeing her son’s body a day before his funeral, when she said he had maggots coming out of his ears. Her son’s death has become part of a larger argument over how St. Louis handles police shootings, how quickly evidence is disclosed, and whether families get a full account before public narratives harden.

Albert Watkins, the family’s attorney, says the video confirms that Wilkins posed no threat. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has said the officer remains on the force. Police also said they changed internal protocols after the shooting so body-camera staff now respond directly to scenes, a move meant to help commanders review footage before public statements are issued.

The involved officer was described by police as 40 years old with roughly 16 to 17 years on the force. As of mid-April 2026, prosecutors were still reviewing evidence to decide whether criminal charges are warranted, while the wrongful-death lawsuit against the officer and the City of St. Louis remains pending. For Wilkins’s family, the central questions remain the same: why he was shot, why the record took so long to emerge, and whether the city’s review process can be trusted to tell the truth quickly enough.