Federal records say similar ammunition and a white SUV are among the evidence investigators are examining in two St. Louis-area shootings.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO — Investigators are examining whether the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Alyssa Wilson on Interstate 170 is connected to another St. Louis-area highway shooting three days earlier, according to federal court records.
Willie Herndon, of Arlington, Texas, is charged in Missouri with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in Wilson’s Oct. 14 death. His wife, Taiya Herndon, is charged with hindering prosecution. Federal authorities also charged Willie Herndon with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The charges are allegations, and the investigation into a possible connection between the two shootings remains ongoing.
Wilson, a senior at McCluer North High School, was driving south on I-170 on the evening of Oct. 14 when she was shot. Investigators said surveillance video showed a white SUV pull onto the shoulder shortly after 7 p.m. near St. Charles Rock Road. A person investigators identified as Willie Herndon got out of the passenger side before a gunshot was heard as Wilson’s vehicle passed, according to court records. Her car then crashed near Midland Boulevard. She was taken to a hospital and later died.
Investigators returned to the area the following day and found a cartridge case in the grass near where the SUV had stopped, federal court records say. The casing was marked for MaxxTech 7.62×39 ammunition. Authorities have described the weapon used in Wilson’s shooting as a high-powered rifle.
That evidence drew investigators’ attention to an Oct. 11 shooting involving a vehicle that had recently exited Interstate 55 onto Bates Avenue in St. Louis. Surveillance video in that case also showed a white SUV parked along the interstate before leaving immediately after a shot was fired, according to the federal complaint. Investigators recovered a cartridge case from that scene bearing the same manufacturer and caliber markings as the casing found near the I-170 shooting.
The similarity does not establish that the same firearm was used in both shootings. Federal records said laboratory testing was pending to determine whether the cartridge cases were fired from the same gun. Authorities have not announced a final ballistic finding or filed additional charges against Herndon in connection with the Oct. 11 shooting.
Investigators used surveillance footage and license plate recognition technology to trace the SUV from the I-170 investigation to a hotel in Caseyville, Illinois, where Willie and Taiya Herndon were taken into custody. Authorities said a search of their hotel room turned up a scoped rifle loaded with the same type of MaxxTech 7.62×39 ammunition referenced in the federal complaint.
The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis has said investigators found no known connection between Wilson and the Herndons. Authorities have not publicly established a motive for Wilson’s killing. Officials have also said information developed during the investigation could relate to other cases, but they have not announced conclusions about those inquiries.
Wilson was remembered by her family as an ambitious teenager preparing for college. Her father, Robert Hickman, said she had been on her way to meet friends at the St. Louis Zoo when she did not arrive. Her school described her as a student-athlete and office aide who planned to attend college after graduation.
The investigation into Wilson’s death and any possible link to the Oct. 11 shooting remains active. Ballistic testing cited in federal records had not produced a publicly announced result as of Tuesday, and the defendants have not been convicted of the charges against them.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 20, 2026.