Ronald Floyd

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 6, 2018, a call brought police to a quiet residential street in the Patch neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, where they made a grim discovery. Inside a car parked on the 700 block of Schirmer Street, officers found 38-year-old Ronald Floyd, who had been fatally shot. His death marked another tragedy in a city grappling with gun violence and left a community to mourn the loss of a man whose life was cut short.

Officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department arrived at the scene in the city’s southeastern riverside community around 6 a.m. Ronald was unresponsive inside the vehicle, suffering from a gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. The initial hours of the investigation began as detectives worked to piece together the events that led to the shooting, speaking with potential witnesses and canvassing the neighborhood for any information.

The investigation soon focused on a man described as a friend of Ronald's, Charles J. Moore. After being taken into custody for questioning, Moore provided a startling account of what he claimed had happened. According to police, Moore told them that he and Ronald were together inside the car when he accidentally fired a gun, striking and killing his friend. This claim of an unintentional act, however, was met with skepticism by law enforcement and prosecutors as they delved deeper into the evidence.

Despite Moore's assertion that the shooting was a tragic accident, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office moved forward with serious charges against him. After reviewing the evidence presented by the police, prosecutors formally charged Moore, who was 39 years old at the time, with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. The decision to file a first-degree murder charge indicated that the prosecutor's office believed they had evidence to prove the killing was deliberate and premeditated, not accidental. Moore was subsequently jailed as he awaited legal proceedings.

While the criminal case unfolded, those who knew Ronald Floyd mourned their loss. His family announced funeral services to be held on Thursday, June 14, 2018, at the Granberry Mortuary Chapel on Jennings Station Road in St. Louis. A visitation was held in the late morning, followed by a funeral service, providing a space for family and friends to gather, share memories, and find solace in community. In the years since his death, Ronald has also been remembered on online gun violence memorial pages, where virtual candles are lit in his honor, a quiet testament to a life taken too soon.

The legal case against Charles J. Moore progressed through the Missouri court system. Public records indicate the case was ultimately resolved through litigation, though detailed information about a trial verdict or a potential plea agreement is not widely available. The initial charges reflected the gravity of the crime and the prosecutor's belief in Moore's culpability beyond a simple accident.

The death of Ronald Floyd remains a somber story of a life lost under violent and disputed circumstances. It highlights the devastating ripple effect of a single gunshot, which not only ends a life but also forever alters the lives of the victim's family, friends, and the person responsible. The case concluded within the justice system, but the personal loss for those who knew and loved Ronald Floyd endures.