ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — An adult and three juveniles were taken into custody after they fired shots at a North County Police Cooperative officer during a pursuit early Saturday morning, authorities said.
Sgt. Tracy Panus, a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Police Department, said the incident began at about 2:20 a.m. when a St. Louis police officer saw a stolen Kia sedan in the 2600 block of Locust Street. The vehicle had been taken a short time earlier from the 2100 block of Chambers Road in north St. Louis County.
The suspects in the Kia were also tampering with other cars in the same block of Chambers Road when they were interrupted by a person in the area. The suspects and the person who interrupted them then exchanged gunfire. No one was injured, Panus said.
After St. Louis County police dispatchers broadcast information about the shooting and stolen car to other area departments, a St. Louis police officer saw the Kia and heard automatic gunfire in the 2600 block of Locust Street. Panus said the officer also saw a person get in the passenger side of the car.
The St. Louis police officer pursued the Kia into St. Louis County, where North County Police Cooperative officers took over.
During the pursuit, the suspects fired shots at an officer, who returned fire, Panus said. The pursuit ended in the 9700 block of Winkler Drive in north St. Louis County when the Kia became inoperable. The suspects jumped out of the vehicle and ran.
Officers chased the suspects on foot and took one man and two boys into custody at about 3 a.m. A short time later, a third boy was taken into custody. The ages of those arrested were not immediately known. Neither the officers nor the suspects were injured, Panus said.
The North County Cooperative police officer involved in this incident is 28 years of age with 5 years of law enforcement experience.
Investigators later found several dozen spent cartridges in the 2600 block of Locust Street. No one was injured at that location.
Two guns were seized during the investigation. One gun was equipped with an automatic sear, enabling it to become fully automatic.
The adult suspect was being held at the St. Louis County Jail, while the three younger suspects were being held at St. Louis County Family Court.
The North County Police Cooperative, which serves eight municipalities in north St. Louis County, asked the St. Louis County Police Department’s Bureau of Crimes Against Persons to handle the investigation.
Police asked anyone with information to call 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).
