St. Louis officer shoots, kills gunman who killed man in downtown shooting moments before, police say (2024)

ST. LOUIS — A man was shot and killed by a city police officer after authorities said he fatally shot another man in downtown St. Louis Friday morning.

According to the St. Louis Police Department'sincident log, the shooting happened at about 7:30 a.m. near the intersection directly in front of Memorial Park and Enterprise Center.

Major Janice Bockstruck said that an officer was working on a mobile surveillance unit when the city officer heard gunfire nearby. Bockstruck said a suspect and victim who were involved in the shooting started running toward the officer.

Bockstruck said the officer pulled out his gun and fired shots, striking and killing one of the men, who was later identified as the suspect. Bockstruck said police only found the suspect's gun and are unsure whether the victim also had a weapon during the shooting.

The victim was shot and injured by the suspect, Bockstruck said. He was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition with "unstable vital signs," where he was later pronounced dead.

The 42-year-old officer was not injured. He has served with the department for 18 years, police said.

According to a law enforcement source, police said they believe the shooting began close to the encampment near St. Louis City Hall.

Aaron Laxton was driving downtown when he heard the shooting unfold from start to finish.

His dashcam recorded and captured the sound of the gunshots and more as he drove onto Market Street.

"Playing that game of: is it gunshots or fireworks?" he said he asked himself. "Trying to figure that out and then I saw people trying to respond. (I) jumped on the phone with 911 and pulled around."

"This type of stuff downtown, this early in the morning, is kind of out of the norm. I think that's probably what caught a lot of people by surprise," Laxton said.

Before Laxton even hung up the phone, dozens of officers rushed to the scene.

Laxton said it was a disturbing start to his Friday morning.

"Someone lost their life, needlessly, to gun violence. It is not normal to be in a situation where someone loses their life. Period," Laxton said.

Mayor Tishaura Jones provided the following statement in response to the incident:

"I'm grateful for the SLMPD officer who responded to a shooting incident in progress and upheld his duty to protect and serve. We are taking this incident seriously, and the safety of our residents and staff is paramount. The area will be secured today, and individuals will no longer be permitted to congregate near the building."

Police officers cleared the homeless camp later Friday morning.

The crime scene was cleaned up and the roadway reopened just before 10 a.m.

As of Friday evening, the homeless encampment hadn't gone far. It was moved across the street.

St. Louis Ward 14 Alderman Rasheen Aldridge supports having more homeless encampments throughout St. Louis. Aldridge said that police have responded to 230 calls to the downtown camp since the start of the year.

"Making sure that these encampments that are popping up, once they get too far gone how do we protect the area," Aldridge said. "At the same time, putting up the barricades only just put our unhoused in another location. It doesn't really figure out the solution. It's just moving them to another location and another spot."

In the last year, fellow St. Louis Alderman Joseph Vollmer said shootings and homeless camps like the one in front of City Hall are wearing on downtown tourism opportunities.

"I believe Stifel Center had a graduation ceremony (Friday)," Vollmer said. "How do you think those folks, this is one of the highlights of your life and you're coming down to a scene where someone was killed just hours before? It's unfortunate."

Police said they plan on releasing a video of the shooting but don't have a timeline of when that will happen.

This is the eighth shooting involving a police officer in St. Louis in 2024, according to 5 On Your Side data.

To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV or the Apple TV app store.