Another 18-year-old fatally shot by police in Ferguson, protests ensue
Another 18-year-old black male was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood.
Police Chief Sam Dotson said the man fired three shots at the officer, who returned fire in self defense. As a result of the shooting, protests in the areas have intensified.
The officer, a six-year veteran of the department, returned fire 17 times.
According to police, the officer was working for a private security company at the time, patrolling a specific neighborhood, but was in a St. Louis police uniform when he encountered three men he thought were acting suspiciously about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. When they saw the officer make a U-turn, they fled.
“One of the ran in a way that the officer believed that he was armed with a gun – holding his waist band, not running at full stride,” Conway said, referring to the 18-year old.
He drove through the streets after them and then left his car and chased them on foot. One of the men then turned toward the officer and approached him “in an aggressive manner,” Dotson said. The suspect and the officer got into a physical altercation.
Dotson said the man then ran up a hill and fired three times at the officer before the officer returned fire.
Investigators recovered a 9mm Ruger at the scene. Dotson said the weapon was in the 18-year-olds possession at the time of incident.
“The suspect continued to pull the trigger on the gun … we learned that that gun had malfunctioned and it was jammed,” Dotson said.
The victim was identified as Vonderrit Myers Jr., by family members at the scene, according to the St. Louis Dispatch. Relatives said the man only had a sandwich, not a weapon. Police are interviewing witnesses to get a greater understanding of what happened.
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