US News

St. Louis cops shoot knife-wielding suspect dead

By
Social Links for Bob Fredericks
Published Aug. 19, 2014, 2:49 p.m. ET

Cops shot and killed an erratic knife-wielding robbery suspect outside a convenience store in St. Louis on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

The shooting — about four miles from where an unarmed black teen was shot by a white cop in nearby Ferguson — happened just before 1 p.m. local time n the northern part of the city, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said.

“The suspect, who right now is described as a 23-year-old African American, was acting erratically — walking back and forth up and down the street,” Dotson told reporters, KSPR TV reported.

“As officers arrived, the suspect turned towards the officers and started to walk towards them clutching his waistband. He then pulled out a knife … and told the officers, ‘Shoot me now. Kill me now,’” the chief said.

The officers repeatedly told the man to stop and drop the knife, but he kept advancing until he was within about four feet of one of the officers, Dotson said.

Both officers then fired their weapons, killing the suspect, he said.

The officers – who were not injured – were placed on administrative duty according to department policy, he said.

Neither the officers nor the victim’s race was immediately disclosed, and it did not appear that the shooting was related to the protests in nearby Ferguson.

But a crowd quickly gathered at the scene, some of them chanting “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” – the same refrain chanted by protesters in Ferguson angry over the Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson.

That shooting sparked nightly demonstrations marred by rioting and looting, and prompted Gov. Jay Nixon to call in the National Guard.