ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Police identified the man they said carjacked a grandfather before being shot and killed by an off-duty sheriff's deputy Monday in north St. Louis County.
Tuesday evening, police identified the man as 27-year-old William Burgess, a resident of Cottage Avenue in St. Louis.
St. Louis County police said it started around 6:35 a.m. Monday as a carjacking in the McDonald’s parking lot on Bellefontaine Road in Spanish Lake. A 67-year-old man and his 10-year-old grandson were carjacked with some kind of weapon, police. The suspect drove off in their black pickup truck.
A short time later, they were walking down the sidewalk away from the scene. Police said the suspect in their truck made a U-turn, came back and hit the man with the vehicle. The 67-year-old was injured but is expected to recover. The 10-year-old wasn’t hurt.
Police said the suspect drove away and wrecked the pickup truck in the front yard of a nearby residence. However, an off-duty sheriff’s deputy with the City of St. Louis Sheriff's Department witnessed the incident and chased the suspect.
While chasing after the man, St. Louis County police officers who were on the scene helping the carjacking victims said they heard a gunshot. The carjacking suspect was shot by the off-duty sheriff’s deputy. The man was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries.
Police said they found the weapon used in the carjacking near the pickup truck. No weapon was found near where Burgess was shot by the deputy.
The off-duty sheriff’s deputy is 51 years old. He has 19 years of experience in law enforcement, St. Louis County police said. He was in his uniform but was in his personal vehicle at the time. The sheriff's department said the deputy was on his way to work when he witnessed the crime and intervened.
The sheriff's deputy is on administrative leave while the investigation is underway.
St. Louis County police said at this time it’s unclear if there was any relationship between the victims and the suspect.
Anyone with information is asked to call the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 or leave an anonymous tip with CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.