Southwestern IL mom loses second child to gun violence. Police search for the killer
Shontaves Thomas was shot and killed while sitting inside of her mother’s car at the Greystone Apartments in Cahokia Heights on the night of Saturday, Dec. 30.
Police have not made any arrests, but they say they are following up on leads.
Thomas’ mother, Nancy Nixon, said her 22-year-old daughter was shot within 10 minutes of leaving Nixon’s East St. Louis residence. Nixon said her daughter was in Cahokia Heights to pick up someone.
Cahokia Heights Detective DeMarius Thomas said police were dispatched to the 300 block of Greystone Drive at 10:52 p.m to investigate a report of shots fired.
When officers arrived, they located a woman inside of a vehicle. She had been shot multiple times, Thomas said.
St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. said Thomas, of East St. Louis, was pronounced dead at Touchette Regional Hospital at 11:23 p.m.
Nixon has now lost two of her three children to gun violence.
She said news that her baby daughter was dead has removed any sanity she had in her life. She said the pain she is experiencing is excruciating.
“This is a pain that makes you say `What am I living for?’ I was living for my kids to make sure they were on the right track to reach their goals,” Nixon said. “They were.
“My baby was a braider. She was an entrepreneur.”
Nixon’s son was 23 years old when he was killed in 2021.
Suffering the loss of two children from gun violence makes the pain she is trying to handle doubly hard.
“Children are supposed to outlive their parents,” Nixon said. “I won’t have the chance to enjoy them until it is my time to go. That is not the way it is supposed to be.”
She described her daughter as gorgeous and beautiful inside and out.
“She was a listener, an adviser, a teacher, a friend,” Nixon said.
Shontaves’ love and warm, caring words uplifted people with low self-esteem.
She would tell them they were beautiful and had self worth. She empowered them to be the best they could be. She was much loved, Nixon said.
Whatever it took to make someone have a nice day, she was able to do it.
That’s why her death is so shocking to Nixon and other family members, friends , and people who knew her and how she effortlessly gave of herself.
What reason did anyone have to kill her? Who is the person who carried the kind of malice inside of them that would allow them to be so cruel and uncaring? Was it a jealous soul? Why? Nixon wonders.
She wants answers, and she is hopeful the police will find the person who killed her daughter.
She says the police have been doing a good job of communicating with her, and she is very grateful for that.
“I need justice,” she said. “Please, if anyone knows anything at all, I would like for them to call the police department. They can remain anonymous.”
Nixon said all of the gun violence makes no sense. It has to stop.
“It has to stop with my daughter,” she said. “Families are hurting. These people using these guns need to put them down. No more shooting. Today it is my family. Tomorrow it could be yours so if you know something, say something.
‘We are going to end all of this violence,” Nixon said.
“My baby was so beautiful. I miss her. The family misses her,” she said. “She did not deserve this.”
Mayor Curtis McCall Sr. expressed his condolences to the family.
“My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family of the victim. We will do everything we can to assist them during this very difficult time,” McCall said.
McCall also said, “Chief Steve Brown would like to thank the law enforcement officers from various departments who responded to the scene and provided assistance.”
How to help
An account has been set up at First Bank at 350 River Park Drive in East St. Louis. The account has the names of Shontaves Thomas and Nancy Nixon on it and the funds will be used for funeral expenses.
This story was originally published January 6, 2024 at 7:00 AM.