Black male shot
This shooting comes nine days after a series of protests on and beyond the one-year anniversary of the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson. Brown allegedly wrestled with Officer Darren Wilson for Wilson’s gun and later rushed at him, ignoring orders to stop.
In this case, the St. Louis Tactical Unit and Special Operations unit were at a dwelling in the north end of the city excercising a search warrant when two males came out the back door of the house and into an alley.
As the two were fleeing down the alley, police say officers told them to halt and when one of the two fleeing men turned around and pointed a gun at officers, two officers fired four shots total; the man dropped his gun and ran off a short distance before collapsing and dying. The other suspect was not hit and ran off.
He is still at large.
“Detectives were looking for guns, looking for violent felons, looking for people that’ve been committing crimes in the neighborhood,” St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said. “Officers in the rear alley ordered them to stop and to drop the gun. As they ran, one of the individuals turned and pointed the gun at the officers. There were two officers in the alley.
“Both officers fired.”
The dead male has been identified as Mansur Ball-Bey. Police said the two officers who fired were white, one 29, the other 33, and each has served upon the force for about seven years. They were both immediately put on administrative leave, which is common on police forces in the wake of a shooting.
St. Louis protests
Either protesters did not know of the circumstances of the shooting, did not believe the police account, or did not care. About 150 protesters stood at a corner near to the alley where Ball-Bey was shot and threw stones and glass bottles at officers, who used shields to protect themselves.
Protesters chanted ‘ Black Lives Matter’, a phrase that has gained popularity across the U.S. during protests about police treatment of blacks. There are reports of an empty house being intentionally burned to the ground. CNN reports businesses were burgalized and at least one car set on fire.
Police say they recovered four guns at the scene of the shooting, including Ball-Bey’s gun, along with crack cocaine. Chief Dotson said they are trying to get a handle on crime in the area and noted there was a murder on the same street Monday and a nearby market was recently riddled with bullets.
Police said to restore order and end criminal acts they used tear gas on some protesters and made 9 arrests.
