ST. LOUIS (AP) - A man in his early 20s died in a hospital after being shot by one of two police officers after a chase and confrontation in south St. Louis, Police Chief Sam Dotson said Tuesday.
The officers were patrolling the Dutchtown neighborhood about 3:35 p.m. when they said they saw a man grab at his waistband and start running down a gangway.
The officers found the man hiding behind a bush with a gun and a struggle ensued, Dotson said.
The chief said the gun began to turn toward one of the officers, and an officer fired four times, striking the man. Dotson did not say how many times the man was hit.
"If I wanted to describe a struggle for your life, one of the officers today is covered in mud, literally head to toe, where they were rolling on the ground in the mud while trying to gain to control of (the man's) gun," Dotson said.
The man was taken to a hospital, where he died, St. Louis Fire Department spokesman Garon Mosby told the newspaper.
Dotson said it wasn't clear which officer fired a gun, but one has been with the force for two years and the other for seven years.
A St. Louis police hot-spot policing initiative is set to focus on the Dutchtown neighborhood beginning next week.
No other information was immediately available.