A former Imo's Pizza employee is dead after holding current workers at gunpoint inside a Bridgeton restaurant and then exchanging gunfire with responding police officers Thursday night. No employees, customers or officers were hurt, according to police, though the man did not survive.
The incident happened shortly after 9 p.m. at an Imo's Pizza on St. Charles Rock Road. First Alert 4 reported Bridgeton officers were called to the 11900 block of the street. The chain's own store listing for the Bridgeton location shows an address of 11911 St. Charles Rock Road, per Imo's Pizza.
Customers Outside Alerted Police
Police said the man held employees inside the restaurant at gunpoint while customers outside the building noticed and alerted authorities, setting off the response. Police exchanged gunfire with him, and he died, per the station's report citing police.
St. Louis County police spokesperson Vera Clay confirmed the man was a former employee of the restaurant, though his motive remained unclear, as the station's account notes. No officers or civilians were injured in the shooting, according to the station's account, and the circumstances leading up to the confrontation are still under investigation.
Investigation Remains Active
Police continue to investigate what led to the standoff.
Police Shootings Across the Region
The Bridgeton shooting also adds to a running tally of police shootings in the St. Louis region. Police across the region shot a suspect at least 22 times during 2025, according to stltoday.com.
The man died, and police have not released his identity. The sequence of events inside the restaurant, including who fired first, has not been detailed publicly. Investigators continue to work the case as they determine what led a former Imo's employee to confront his old coworkers with a gun.
