ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A Webster Groves police officer was shot and injured while responding to a call on Interstate 44 in St. Louis County Tuesday night. The suspect involved in the shooting has died.
Around 8:20 p.m., the officer and an assist car responded to a stranded driver, who was stopped in the left lane near the median of the westbound lanes between Shrewsbury and Elm.
One officer parked his cruiser closer to the stranded motorist while the other stayed farther away to help direct traffic.
The first officer got out of his vehicle and as soon as he started to walk up to the stranded car, the driver began shooting at the officer, St. Louis County Police spokesman Sgt. Ben Granda said Tuesday night. The officer returned fire.
Both the officer and the suspect were shot multiple times. The officer applied a tourniquet to himself and the other officer who was on scene to assist drove the injured officer to a nearby hospital. His condition wasn't given, but Granda said the officer was alert and his vitals were stable at the hospital.
The suspect died at the scene. Wednesday afternoon, St. Louis County police identified the victim as Qavon Webb, a 23-year-old man from St. Louis.
The officer is about 36 years old and has about seven years of experience in law enforcement, Granda said, adding that the officer was able to put a tourniquet on himself in the moments after exchanging gunfire with the suspect.
"Sounds like he's the real deal," Granda said. "I don't know if I'd have everything firing on all cylinders in such a life or death moment. Thankfully, he was aware of that. Thankfully, he had a second officer there that expedited his arrival to the hospital. And we had all those things going right at the same time. So, we're very fortunate for that."
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell also responded to the scene. He commended all of the police departments that were on scene investigating what happened and called it a blessing that the officer survived.
St. Louis County police asked anyone who was driving in the area at the time, either in the westbound lanes or eastbound lanes, to contact them with any details they might have noticed.
"No matter how big or small, it's very important that they contact us or CrimeStoppers as soon as possible so we can understand their perspective," Sgt. Granda said.
You can call the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
The St. Louis County Police Department is handling the investigation.