Officer-involved shooting in North County

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – On Thursday at approximately 5:36 pm, St. Louis County Police officers from the North County Precinct responded to a call for a disturbance at the 11100 block of Ruesta Drive.

According to police, during the investigation, two uniformed officers contacted an individual in a van. The individual was found to be armed with a handgun.

Police say that there was a struggle and the suspect was shot by one of the officers. Both officers immediately began lifesaving techniques until EMS arrived on the scene.

The suspect was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. He was pronounced deceased later Thursday evening. Detectives are still working to identify the suspect to notify his family. When the suspect’s family is notified, his name will be released.

The responding officers were uninjured in the incident and a firearm was recovered on scene.

The incident is being investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department’s Bureau of Crimes Against Persons.

Further investigation revealed that the two responding officers, that were in full Department uniform, contacted the suspect in an SUV in the parking lot of the apartment complex. Police say that the suspect appeared to be unresponsive.

The officer on the front passenger side of the vehicle noticed a handgun accessible to the suspect. The officer opened the passenger door and attempted to secure the gun and the suspect reacted, making a struggle for the gun to arise.

The officer was inside the suspect vehicle when the suspect started driving. Police say that during the struggle over the suspect’s firearm, the officer was in fear of his life and un-holstered his department-issued firearm and shot the suspect at least one time.

The assisting officer, knowing that the other officer was inside the suspect vehicle, got into his patrol vehicle to follow the SUV. He eventually pulled in front of the SUV to stop it.

When the suspect vehicle was stopped by the marked patrol vehicle, the officers removed the suspect from the vehicle and began lifesaving efforts on the individual, according to police.

The suspect vehicle was reported stolen out of the City of St. Louis.

Police reported that the officer who discharged his weapon has two years of service with the St. Louis County Police Department and the assisting officer has less than a year of service with the Department.

Additional information will be released as it becomes available. Contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 to speak to investigators if you have any information regarding the incident.

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