31-year-old slain in metro-east auto parts store was charismatic, ‘bright and driven’

People knew Dantrell Smith as a man who touched many lives by helping others and providing for his family.

His slaying has family, friends and the community shaken, his mother consumed by grief.

Smith was working at his job at O’Reilly Auto Parts on State Street in East St. Louis when he was shot and killed on Sunday, Jan. 7.

Few details about the 31-year-old East St. Louis man’s slaying have been released.

His grieving family is asking why someone would shoot Smith, another life lost to gun violence.

”He just became another statistic. We just became another family that’s dealing with this chaos in St. Louis and East St. Louis,” Kellie Vincent, who is Smith’s aunt, told the BND. “This gun violence never ends. Now we have a whole family grieving.

“We can never get him back over a situation that probably could’ve been resolved over a conversation.”

Vincent spoke for the family in an interview with the BND. Smith’s mother was too broken up to share her thoughts over her son’s slaying.

“The people doing the shootings are destroying families and leaving many children without their parents,” Vincent said. “No one deserves this. The children certainly do not deserve to lose their parents at the hands of a gunman.”

She said losing a loved one to gun violence causes “an indescribable pain.”

“They don’t only kill the person they shoot, they take the life out of a family,’’ she said. “No one should have to deal with this kind of pain.”

Smith was the second East St. Louis resident shot to death last week. Jaimarcus McDaniel, who was 17, was found dead early Tuesday in a field in Jennings, St. Louis County.

Smith’s impact on others

Smith was “very charismatic, very bright and driven,” with a great sense of humor, said Vickie Kimmel, CEO of Teens Against Killing Everywhere, an East St. Louis-based nonprofit that helps people and metro-east communities.

Smith, his brother and one of his best friends were part of TAKE’s Youth Policy Council.

“He really was a leader,” Kimmel said. ”He was recruiting for our program.”

Smith had been promoting a program called YouthBuild St. Clair County.

“He’s been doing outreach with us and putting it on Facebook,” she said. “He was doing reels and putting it out there about being a part of YouthBuild St.Clair County. “

YouthBuild is a multifaceted program that targets youth 16-24 years old, with learning opportunities in the fields of carpentry, construction, maintenance and more.

Smith’s aunt said he “loved working with his hands. He loved building.”

He was loved by the community and would do anything he could to help someone in need. And he loved his family, Vincent said.

“He left an imprint on any life he touched,” she said.

Smith was always well-dressed, a trait instilled in Smith and his six brothers by their mother. (“When you dress good, you feel good,” Vincent said.)

Smith never left his home, or anywhere else, without a smile. He was known for smiling, laughing and joking, Vincent said.

“We will continue to remember him this way,” she said. “We know he wouldn’t want us to be sad. It’s tough, but we will stick together. God will help us to get through this,” she said. “We will make sure we keep his memory alive and uplift his legacy.”

She asked that everyone keep Smith’s family in their prayers. “And anybody who knows something we want them to say something,” she said.

O’Reilly Auto Parts issued a statement to the BND concerning Smith’s slaying.

“O’Reilly Auto Parts is saddened by the loss of our team member and is cooperating fully with the police investigation,” the statement says. “We’re offering help to the family and our other team members through our employee assistance program and team member emergency fund.”

Illinois State Police are investigating Smith’s death.

This story was originally published January 13, 2024 at 2:49 PM.