ST. LOUIS (AP) - Two juveniles have been arrested in the shooting of an off-duty police officer, police in St. Louis said.
The shooting happened around midnight Sunday, while the officer was working as a security officer downtown, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The officer was shot in the arm and is expected to make a full recovery, St. Louis police Major Eric Larson said. The off-duty officer was in plain clothes and a vest marked “POLICE” when he spotted two people approaching him, and one began firing a gun at him, Larson said.
The officer did not return fire and sent out an “officer-in-need-of-aid” call. Larson said officers later arrested two juveniles, but did not give their names or ages. Police also did not release the injured officer’s name, but Larson said he’s 47 years old and has 24 years’ experience on the force.
The shooting was the latest in a string of attacks on police in St. Louis this year, including four officers who were shot and wounded June 2 during civil unrest over the police-involved killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Also in June, retired St. Louis police captain David Dorn was fatally shot while protecting a pawn shop from break-in that followed a night of violent protests, police said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.