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Burglary suspect shot and killed after charging officer with screwdriver, police say

The suspect has been identified as 28-year-old Mark Brewer of St. Louis

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis police officer shot and killed a suspect who was armed with a screwdriver at a south city storage facility Sunday morning, police said.

The suspect has been identified as 28-year-old Mark Brewer of St. Louis.

The shooting occurred around 6 a.m. on the 4400 block of Gravois Avenue in the Bevo Mill neighborhood. 

According to an updated police report released on Monday, an officer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department had been conducting a self-initiated building search of a warehouse that had a history of being burglarized. He requested help after hearing power tools being used inside and two other officers arrived to help him search the warehouse. 

During the search, the first officer found Brewer and another suspect taking items out of an electrical box. The officer announced himself and gave verbal commands.

Brewer approached the officer while holding a screwdriver and ignored his commands, the report said. The officer then shot Brewer with his department-issued gun, killing him.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief John Hayden said at a Sunday press conference that Brewer had charged at the officer.

Police recovered a screwdriver at the scene.

The second suspect ran and was at one point running around inside the building while officers tried to secure the scene, Hayden said. He was able to escape and was still at large as of Monday morning.

The officer who shot the suspect is 41 years old and has been with the department for just under 13 years, Hayden said. 

All of the officers were in full uniform, the report said. No officers were injured.

The department's Force Investigation Unit is leading the investigation.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.

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