NORMANDY, Missouri — Authorities say an 18-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to his face in a St. Louis suburb after firing at officers Wednesday afternoon. It’s unclear how the man sustained the injury. The Normandy Police Department told The Huffington Post in a statement that “it appears at this time that the male was not struck by law enforcement gunfire.” However, people claiming to have witnessed the incident said otherwise. The department said an 18-year-old male shot at officers in Normandy after police ;were called in to help find a “suicidal subject” whose family was attempting …
NORMANDY, Missouri — Authorities say an 18-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to his face in a St. Louis suburb after firing at officers Wednesday afternoon.
It’s unclear how the man sustained the injury. The Normandy Police Department told The Huffington Post in a statement that “it appears at this time that the male was not struck by law enforcement gunfire.” However, people claiming to have witnessed the incident said otherwise.
The department said an 18-year-old male shot at officers in Normandy after police ;were called in to help find a “suicidal subject” whose family was attempting to calm him down. When officers attempted to speak to the suspect, he allegedly removed a gun from his waistband and began firing at them. After deploying a Taser, which had no effect, the officers returned fire, the department said.
The suspect fled, and another gunshot was heard out of the officers’ sight, according to the statement. The officers then reportedly found the suspect on the ground, unresponsive.
A witness to the shooting who asked to remain anonymous told HuffPost that she saw two officers shoot the suspect — who was wearing a red, orange and yellow jacket — twice in the face. ;
“We heard approximately six gunshots ring out. I yelled and told my daughter to get down,” she said.
“It was not a suicide,” the witness said. “At all.”
Deron Smith told the St. Louis Dispatch that he saw the teenager running from the officers, but that he ;didn’t appear to be holding a gun ;because he was using two hands to scale a fence.
A media advisory from the St. Louis Police Department, which said it is helping the Normandy Police Department investigate the incident, described it as an “officer-involved shooting.”
The man was taken to the hospital and is in critical condition, the Normandy Police Department’s statement said.
Ferguson is the town where ;Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen, was shot dead by Officer Darren Wilson last year, sparking protests across the nation. Wilson did not face charges in Brown’s killing.
Normandy has a population of about 5,000 that is more than two-thirds black, though the town’s police force is ;predominantly white. ;
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
View this article –
Teen Shot In Face After Altercation With Police Near Ferguson
