St. Louis-area freeway shooting suspect investigated over second roadside shooting

Mixed · 2Willie Herndon of Arlington, Texas, is accused of killing 17-year-old Alyssa Wilson on Oct. 14 and is now being investigated in connection with a second roadway shooting, according to federal court documents. 1 2 Mixed · 2Wilson was driving on Interstate 170 near Overland, Missouri, to a Halloween event at the St. Louis Zoo when a single round struck her in the back; she was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital and pronounced dead. 1 2 Centre · 1The Times of India, citing Fox2Now, adds that Wilson lost control and her car crashed into a concrete median. 2

Mixed · 2Authorities say Wilson had no ties to Herndon or his wife. 1 2 Mixed · 2The earlier shooting happened on Oct. 11 on Interstate 55 in St. Louis. A vehicle that had just exited the interstate was hit by gunfire, and no one was reported injured. 1 2 Mixed · 2Per Fox2Now as relayed by the Times of India, a 37-year-old motorist said a white SUV had pulled over near the highway shortly after 4:30 a.m.; security video in the federal complaint showed a white SUV parked on the interstate's side that fled immediately after the shooting. 2 1

Mixed · 2A single cartridge case recovered there had a headstamp from the same manufacturer as the one found in the Wilson investigation. Lab and ballistic testing is under way to determine whether the two shootings are tied. 1 2 Mixed · 2Authorities tracked a white Buick Enclave, identified through security video, to a Days Inn in Caseyville, Illinois, where Taiya Herndon was approached and Willie Herndon ran from the hotel and was arrested. 1 2 Left · 1According to the state complaint, Willie Herndon admitted firing a rifle from beside the vehicle on southbound I-170, and Taiya Herndon admitted driving. 1

Mixed · 2A search of the hotel room turned up an AR-15-style rifle loaded with MaxxTech ammunition matching the casing found at the Wilson scene, according to the federal complaint. NBC reports MaxxTech also made the casing from the Oct. 11 attack. 1 2 Left · 1Investigators also found notebooks with license plate numbers, vehicle descriptions and descriptions of law enforcement personnel Willie Herndon believed were following him. Prosecutors allege the couple drove from Texas through Arkansas to Missouri using Oklahoma plates that did not belong to their SUV. 1 Left · 1Willie Herndon faces state charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action, and a federal charge of being a felon with a gun. Taiya Herndon faces a state charge of hindering prosecution, with bail set at $500,000. 1

Left · 1Willie Herndon has a federal pretrial detention hearing in East St. Louis on Tuesday and a preliminary hearing on Nov. 4. Taiya Herndon's bail hearing is Thursday and her preliminary hearing is Nov. 19. His public defender did not respond to NBC's request for comment. 1 Centre · 1Authorities are also examining whether the shootings connect to other unsolved apparently random attacks on motorists, including the 2024 interstate shooting death of Collin Brown, and are reviewing the couple's movements through license plate reader data. 2 Left · 1Wilson's father, Robert Hickman, said at a news conference: "Alyssa was 17, excited about her life, excited about her future." 1