ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) - The man suspected of shooting an off-duty police officer at a Walmart store in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson faces charges including first-degree assault.
St. Louis County police said in a news release Wednesday that 20-year-old Fhontez Mitchell, of Ferguson, is being held on $1 million cash-only bond. Mitchell was arrested Tuesday after a manhunt.
The officer works for the police department in Calverton Park, which is near Ferguson, and was working as a security guard at the store Sunday night when he spotted a man, identified by police as Mitchell, stealing women’s clothes, police said. The officer confronted Mitchell, who fired multiple times at the officer before fleeing. The officer did not fire his weapon.
The 35-year-old officer, whose name has not been released, was struck in the arm and twice in the torso, but was wearing a protective vest, said St. Louis County police spokesman Sgt. Benjamin Granda. Calverton Park police said he has been released from the hospital.
Mitchell faces charges including first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution, resisting or interfering with arrest for a felony and two counts of armed criminal action.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.