St. Louis

St. Louis police say Gabrielle "Sam" Linehan, a 28‑year‑old former U.S. synchronized figure skater and current coach, was shot and killed just after 10 a.m. Tuesday in an alleged armed robbery while sitting in her car at a Starbucks drive‑thru in the city’s Tower Grove East neighborhood. According to a probable‑cause statement, a man approached her vehicle, opened fire, and stole several of her bank cards and driver’s license before fleeing; Linehan was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Police arrested 58‑year‑old Keith Lamon Brown on Wednesday, identifying him from surveillance footage that showed him nearby in a high‑visibility vest and helmet, and say a SWAT search of his home turned up evidence from two earlier robberies. Court records show Brown is now charged with first‑degree murder, three counts of first‑degree robbery, four counts of armed criminal action and unlawful firearm possession, and he is being held without bond at the St. Louis City Justice Center, with local media noting a criminal record dating to the 1980s. Linehan, who won a 2014 junior silver medal at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships with St. Louis Synergy, is being remembered by her club and students as a "cherished" coach and mentor whose killing has rattled the local skating community and intensified public anger over repeat violent offenders in the city.