Family of shooting victim wants North City gas station closed
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Attorney Jerryl Christmas is calling for the Crown Food Mart on North Kingshighway in north St. Louis to close after his brother’s killing.
John Christmas, 51, died in June of 2024.
He and Trevell Warren tussled outside the store over Christmas’ gun, and he was shot.
Jerryl Christmas tells First Alert 4, “He lost his life here, and so as far as I’m concerned, I’m past talking. It’s time for action. I want them shut down.”
Christmas’ family filed a wrongful death suit against the Crown Food Mart’s owners.
According to the lawsuit, “Defendants had a legal duty to take reasonable measures to protect invitees and other persons legally upon its property, including Decedent Christmas, from the criminal acts of third parties, because of the occurrence of the numerous prior crimes that included violence or the potential for violence on its property; and (b) Defendant had a legal duty to take reasonable steps to protect its property Invitees, including Decedent Christmas, from the criminal acts of persons whom they knew were dangerous and present on or about Defendants’ premises...”
Attorney Jermaine Wooten, who is representing the family, says, “All the way up until his death, they’ve had all sorts of criminal activity at this gas station. They’ve done nothing to address their level of crime.”
First Alert 4 obtained data from SLMPD.
From June 2, 2022 to June 2, 2025, there have been 250 calls for service to the gas station.
“The owner is consistent and doing one thing having all his businesses in certain areas. It’s normally low income, black areas. They don’t have any level of security in any of these areas,” says Wooten.
Attorney Jay Kanzler is representing the owners of the gas station.
He tells First Alert 4, “Crown Mart has been part of the Saint Louis community for 30-40 years. They have about 15 stores around the area. To call for closing a business because it is in the city surrounded by a neighborhood that has unfortunately a crime, it doesn’t make any sense.”
He goes on to say, “Mr. Christmas’ brother had been banned from the property because of his bad acts. He was not supposed to be there.”
In surveillance footage obtained by First Alert 4, you can see the incident.
“He was shot and killed. Now that’s a tragedy, but that’s not because Crown Mart did anything. That’s because there are too many guns and too many arguments being settled with guns in the City of Saint Louis,” says Kanzler.
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