A man accused of assaulting a woman during a domestic disturbance on Lotus Avenue died Monday after exchanging gunfire with St. Louis police officers who had been searching for him for more than an hour. A marked police SUV was struck by bullets during the confrontation, and officers found a firearm near the suspect's body once the shooting stopped.
According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, District 5 officers responded to the 5300 block of Lotus Avenue shortly after 9:30 a.m. for a report of a man assaulting a woman during a domestic disturbance involving a firearm. When officers first arrived, they were unable to locate the suspect, according to the department's account. First Alert 4 reported that officers had been called to the scene around 9:30 a.m. and likewise could not find the suspect when they first arrived.
While officers continued investigating, the armed suspect encountered them and a shootout erupted, First Alert 4's report states. The exchange of gunfire, which happened around 10:50 a.m., prompted an officer-in-need-of-aid call, according to police. The suspect was struck by gunfire and died at the scene, and a firearm was recovered near his body.
Conflicting Accounts of the Neighborhood and Any Officer Injury
Reports differ on where exactly in north St. Louis the shooting unfolded. FOX 2 placed the 5300 block of Lotus Avenue in the city's Kingsway West neighborhood, while the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, writing for stltoday.com, described the same block as part of the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood.
Accounts also conflict on whether any officer was hurt. The newspaper reported that no officers were injured in the shooting. FOX 2, however, quoted SLMPD Public Affairs Director Mitch McCoy saying one officer nearly got shot and was injured, though the station did not detail the nature of that injury. Police are investigating whether a hole discovered in an officer's pant leg is consistent with a bullet strike, the department said. The suspect's partner was not hit by gunfire, FOX 2 reported.
Investigation Ongoing, Body-Camera Footage Under Review
Police are currently reviewing body camera footage as part of the inquiry, per FOX 2's report. The SLMPD Force Investigation Unit is handling the ongoing investigation into the shooting, according to the department.
Monday's shooting echoes an earlier officer-involved shooting in downtown St. Louis. In May, police shot and killed a man downtown after he charged at officers with a pipe and a chef's knife, according to St. Louis Public Radio. In that earlier case, the man was taken to a hospital, where he later died, and no officers were injured, the station reported.
