St. Louis police: Suspect with gun shot and killed
ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis police say a suspect who pointed a gun was shot and killed by officers Tuesday.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Sam Dotson said the suspect was running from two officers in south St. Louis, then pointed a gun at them. One of the officers fired, striking the man. The suspect was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The officers were patrolling the Dutchtown neighborhood about 3:35 p.m. when they said they saw a man grab at his waistband and start running down a gangway, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The officers found the man hiding behind a bush with a gun and a struggle ensued, Dotson said.
The chief said the gun began to turn toward one of the officers, and an officer fired four times, striking the man. Dotson did not say how many times the man was hit.
"If I wanted to describe a struggle for your life, one of the officers today is covered in mud, literally head to toe, where they were rolling on the ground in the mud while trying to gain to control of (the man's) gun," Dotson said.
No officers were injured in the shooting.
A .45 caliber gun was recovered at the scene. Police say the gun was reported stolen from Alabama in May 2013.
The man was taken to a hospital, where he died, St. Louis Fire Department spokesman Garon Mosby told the newspaper.
Dotson said it wasn't clear which officer fired a gun, but that one has been with the force for two years and the other for seven years
The St. Louis area was rocked by weeks of violent protests after a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., shot and killed an unarmed black teenager last year. A St. Louis County grand jury declined to bring charges against the officer in November, setting off another round of protests.
Contributing: The Associated Press