Rayquan Smith, 16, of the 800 block of Elias Avenue in north St. Louis, was shot and killed in the 5900 block of Summit Place on Saturday, February 26, 2011. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated his death.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he was fatally shot at about 9:15 p.m. while walking with two other people. The portion of the report available for this account does not say whether his companions were hurt, how many shots were fired, or whether he died at the scene or at a hospital.
No description of a suspect, a vehicle or a motive has been found, and no reward was found. Searches for his name turn up an unrelated case in Elgin, Illinois, involving a different, older man of the same name. That case has nothing to do with the St. Louis boy, and no arrest in his own killing was found.
Rayquan Smith was only 16, a high school student by age.
Beyond his age and the block where he lived, nothing about his life, his family or his school has been published, and no obituary or memorial page was found. His name is shared by several well-known college athletes, which crowds the search results and may help explain why his story has been so hard to follow.
Rayquan Smith's name also appears in a 2018 Washington Post investigation that listed thousands of homicide victims across major American cities whose killings had not led to an arrest. Being on that list means that, years after the killing, the case was still counted among those for which no one had been arrested.
Elias Avenue and Summit Place are residential streets in the far northern part of the city, near its boundary with St. Louis County. On a Saturday night, people on porches, in passing cars or in nearby homes may have seen the group walking, or seen someone approach them.
St. Louis recorded 144 homicides in 2010 and 113 in 2011, and for years its per capita homicide rate was among the highest of any large city in the United States. Most of the killings took place in a handful of neighborhoods on the city's north and south sides, and many of them were never solved. A case with little public information, like this one, rarely stays in the news for long.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Rayquan Smith could be found in news archives or public records. More than 15 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. The two people who were walking with him that night, and anyone who lived near Summit Place in February 2011, may know something that could help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a car seen leaving the area or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Division at 314-444-5371, or leave an anonymous tip with CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (866-371-8477).
