JENNINGS, Mo. — A man who was firing shots in a Jennings neighborhood was shot and killed Sunday morning by a St. Louis County police officer, authorities said.
Tracy Panus, a St. Louis County police department spokeswoman, said police were called to the 2000 block of Coleridge Dr. shortly before 11 a.m.
They had been called to the same address several hours earlier for a welfare check and made contact with a man at the residence. No criminal activity was occurring, and police left without incident.
When officers arrived the second time, they encountered the same man inside the residence indiscriminately firing a shotgun at neighboring houses. One of the bullets struck a man inside a home.
Officers surrounded the suspect's home to try and contain him and contacted St. Louis County Police Tactical Unit and Crisis Negotiation Team to respond.
Officers saw the suspect in the side doorway with what appeared to be Molotov cocktails. They believe he was trying to set his or his neighbor's home on fire.
Before the tactical unit or negotiators could arrive, the man walked out of the side door with a sawed-off shotgun, police said, and a St. Louis County police officer shot him.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man was identified Monday as George Hollins, Jr., a 26-year-old from south St. Louis County.
The man who was hit by gunfire inside his home suffered non-life-threatening injuries. He is expected to be OK, Panus said.
Several other houses in the neighborhood were hit by gunfire, officials said, adding no police officers were injured during the altercation.
The officer who shot the man is 30 years old and has six years of law enforcement experience.
The investigation remains very active at this time, police said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477).
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.