Family demands answers after prosecutor declines to charge man in Soulard shooting death
August 13, 2026

First Alert 4 – A St. Louis family is seeking answers after the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office declined to file charges against the man identified by police as the shooter in the death of 20-year-old Darwin Vargas.


Vargas was killed in the early morning hours of June 28 outside Soulard Social Bar and Grill. His aunt, Kyla Daniels, said several scuffles broke out as Vargas was leaving the bar with family and friends. Video of the incident circulated widely on social media.


Daniels told First Alert 4 Investigates that Vargas was behind a car and involved in a scuffle when gunfire erupted, first one round, then another. She said a bullet ricocheted off a nearby sign and struck Vargas.


"Darwin got up, went to go across the street, that's when a bullet ricocheted through this sign and hit him," Daniels recalled.

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For Immediate Release

For more information contact:

Amber Raub

Public Information Officer

St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office

rauba@stlouiscao.org

314-589-6233 (Media Inquiries Only)

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