15-year-old identified as St. Louis police shooting victim

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis police have identified a 15-year-old as the victim of a fatal police shooting during a chase involving a car that authorities say had been stolen at gunpoint.

Jorevis Scruggs died Tuesday morning after reportedly pointing a stolen gun at two St. Louis police officers who were following the suspected stolen car.

The 30-year-old officer, whose name has not been released, is white and has nearly eight years' experience. Scruggs was black.

Police haven't released the name of a 19-year-old who was also in the car that was reported stolen Monday night. He was arrested at the scene.

The car was abandoned about one mile away. Its driver remains at large. Authorities say a gun recovered at the shooting site was reported stolen in November.

The preliminary cause of death was a single shot to the back, St. Louis medical examiner Dr. Michael Graham told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/20XSa88).

The officer's attorney, Brian Millikan, told the newspaper that his client saw Scruggs holding a gun in his right hand that was pointed at the officer while Scruggs started to run away.

"We're not sure if the suspect fired or not, but that's when the policeman fired," Millikan said. "It's perfectly consistent with a transverse shot."

Graham added that, "Everything I've seen is consistent with the officer's account."

"As I understand it, the kid was running with his arm up shooting or pointing the gun at the officer, who was kind of behind him," Graham said.

Police have not said publicly whether Scruggs fired the gun.