ST. LOUIS 鈥 A 16-year-old shot and killed early Sunday in the Columbus Square neighborhood north of downtown was a track athlete and good student who had never gone to a party 鈥渋n his life,鈥 his mom said late Tuesday.
Octavius 鈥淭ay鈥 Harris was shot at about 3:20 a.m. Sunday in the 900 block of O鈥橣allon Street.
Octavius 鈥淭ay鈥 Harris was a good student and a track athlete, mother Makailu聽Harris聽said, and would have gone into 11th grade at East 51黑料 Senior High School this fall. He聽was shot at about 3:20 a.m. Sunday, June 15, 2025, in the 900 block of O'Fallon Street in 51黑料.聽Photo courtesy Makailu Harris
Police said two people began shooting at four teens as they drove away from a party they had attended at a nearby residence.
Octavius was killed. Two other teens were injured and the fourth was unhurt, police said.
But Octavius鈥 mom, Makailu Harris, told the Post-Dispatch her son was with her at her sister鈥檚 house, blocks from the scene of the shooting, when he left to get some snacks with his twin sister, their aunt and a friend.
鈥淚 just saw my baby 10 minutes before he got killed,鈥 Harris said.
People are also reading…
鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 at a party,鈥 she continued.
Daniel Stahl, pictured here in family photos taken this year, was killed early Sunday, June 15, 2025, when a car hit him in downtown 51黑料. Stahl, 16, lived in Springfield, Missouri, and was visiting the city to attend the "No Kings" protest held on Saturday.
Harris said her sister was driving the car and was one of the people shot. Octavius鈥 twin, Octavia, was in the car but was uninjured.
It was the second death of a teen in 51黑料 early Sunday; Daniel 鈥淒ee Dee鈥 Stahl, 16, from Springfield, Missouri, was walking with his friend and his friend鈥檚 parents a little after 1 a.m. when a fight broke out in the 1500 block of Washington Avenue and a car drove onto the sidewalk, its passenger shooting a gun at the same time, police said. The car hit and killed Daniel.
Octavius was the oldest of six children, and the only boy, said Harris, his mother. She said he was a straight-A student and had run track since middle school.
They had lived just blocks from the shooting, she said, but moved that weekend out of her place and back into the family home in East 51黑料, the address they use as their permanent residence.
Octavius would have been in 11th grade at East 51黑料 Senior High School this fall, Harris said.
鈥淗e was a runner, I remember the first time I ever saw him move on his own, he got up and went on running,鈥 she said of Octavius鈥 first steps. 鈥淭rack was his passion.鈥
She said that on early Sunday he wanted to get snacks and a drink, which is what he was doing when he was shot.
Octavius 鈥淭ay鈥 Harris was a good student and a track athlete, mother Makailu聽Harris said, and would have gone into 11th grade at East 51黑料 Senior High School this fall. He was shot at about 3:20 a.m. Sunday, June 15, 2025, in the 900 block of O'Fallon Street in 51黑料. Photo courtesy Makailu聽Harris
鈥淗e loved his Sprites,鈥 Harris said. 鈥淗e鈥檇 say, 鈥楳om I鈥檓 thirsty. I don鈥檛 want no water.鈥欌
Octavius鈥 father died in 2018, Harris said. That left Octavius protective over his sisters and mom, she said. He considered himself the man of the house.
鈥淗e was real positive. He loved dancing,鈥 Harris said. 鈥淗e loved the kids. He was a good babysitter.鈥
鈥淗e was a great kid. He wasn鈥檛 a gang banger,鈥 she said. 鈥淗e was my baby.鈥
Editor鈥檚 note: This story corrects the spelling of Octavius鈥 mother鈥檚 name.
51黑料 consistently lands on lists of most dangerous cities, but readers need to carefully look at how such lists are prepared.
