LaTasha Brown

LaTasha Brown, 45, of St. Louis died late Monday, police said Tuesday. Her daughter, Paige Buckner, died late Sunday. Just after midnight Sunday, a neighbor called 911 to report a fire in the 5700 block of Floy Avenue, just east of Goodfellow Boulevard and south of West Florissant Avenue. The one-story brick bungalow occupied by Paige and her mother was on fire. City firefighters arrived and found the mother and child inside. Both had been shot. The two were taken to the hospital in critical condition. Paige died hours later. McCoy said Monday police are working to establish a timeline of events in a scene that was marred by fire and complicated by firefighters forcing their way into the home. Bomb and arson investigators are also assisting. McCoy provided few details about the investigation but said authorities believed the fire was set intentionally. LaTasha was a longtime community activist in Ferguson who organized food, clothing and school supply drives, and advocated for racial and economic equity. Brown led the Southeast Ferguson Community Association, a group that collected donations of food, clothing, household and school supplies for those in need and organized residents who wanted to get involved in local government. The Ferguson Human Rights Commission, a citizen panel, recognized her as an "advocate of the year" in 2020. "I want to change the term the 'Ferguson Effect,' and take it and change it into a positive meaning," Brown told the Post-Dispatch in 2019. "Show that the community works together, and that's the true Ferguson Effect, coming together after our hardships."