ST. LOUIS — A man was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing a family friend on Christmas Eve in the city's Forest Park Southeast neighborhood.

Keon M. Cannady, 22, pleaded guilty to shooting 20-year-old Shawn Kennedy in 2023 at a home in the 900 block of Talmage Avenue.

Charges said Cannady was asked to leave the home. When he got outside, he opened fire at the house and then ran off, surveillance video showed.

Cannady was set to go to trial this week but pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder and unlawful weapons possession, according to a news release from the St. Louis circuit court.

"I hope you come to grips with what you did and that after this (sentence) you are a changed person," Judge Michael Noble said in court.

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