Photo by Corwin Deckard
VICE News is closely watching policing in America. Check out the Officer Involved blog here.Protests erupted in a St. Louis neighborhood Wednesday after police shot and killed an armed black man while carrying out a search warrant.St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson told local reporters officers arrived at a north St. Louis home and spotted two men with guns running outside the back door around 11:30 am. Police began chasing the two and told them to drop their weapons. One suspect turned to point his gun at the police, and in response both officers opened fire, discharging four shots and striking one of the fleeing suspects, Dotson said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The second suspect, who was described as a teenager, was not apprehended.Police said the man killed in the incident was a black male in his 20s, but did not release any other details about his identity. Neither of the police officers involved in the incident was injured, according to police. The incident in now being investigated by the department, which has placed the two officers on administrative leave. Dotson said they will be put back to work after they are deemed "fit for duty," per protocol.Police returned to the home after the shooting and found four other guns along with crack cocaine in the premises, according to police.Protests broke out on the block shortly after the incident, with residents of the neighborhood yelling at officers who had swarmed the scene.
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Dotson explained that police were in the area because the neighborhood "had been plagued by violence in recent days." A shooting occurred Monday night in the neighborhood, and a carjacking and robbery of a man took place in two separate incidents on Sunday. There have been four shootings at the same intersection since March, according to local the St. Louis Fox affiliate.Scene of officer involved shooting in STL. Apparent relative of man killed by police sits in street. — Jesse Bogan (@JesseBogan)August 19, 2015
Dotson added that Wednesday's shooting "shows the availability of guns, stolen guns, in this case, in the hands of criminals and their willingness to point them at police officers."Wednesday's shooting comes one day after a 9-year-old girl was fatally shot in her home in nearby Ferguson. Police had responded to a call about gunshots, and found that Jamyla Bolden and her mother had both been shot from outside, reported the St. Louis Post. The girl's mother was wounded but alive. Police said they were investigating the cause of the shooting, and did not release further details about a possible motive.Ten days ago was the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown's killing by a Ferguson policeman, which sparked national protests and outrage over police conduct across America.Photo via FlickrPolice Chief Dotson at the scene where an officer shot and killed a man who 'pointed a gun at officers.' — Kevin Killeen (@KMOXKilleen)August 19, 2015