As if tensions in the area weren’t already running at a dangerously high level, there was another incident this afternoon in St. Louis, not far from last week’s shooting in nearby Ferguson. MSNBC’s Zachary Roth and Amanda Sakuma reported from the scene.
Two St. Louis policemen shot and killed a 23-year-old black man Tuesday just three miles south of Ferguson, Missouri, the scene of more than a week of violence and protests in the wake of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, being killed by Darren Wilson, a white local police officer on Aug. 9.According to St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, the unidentified male initially entered a convenience store carrying two energy drinks. After exiting, he re-entered and allegedly took a package of pastries without paying for them. When he was confronted by the store’s owner he tossed the food into the street and began to walk around “erratically”, according to St. Louis police.Another business owner contacted authorities and when officers arrived the man allegedly pulled a knife out of his waste-band in a threatening manner, and told police, “Shoot me now, kill me now, shoot me.”
While many of the details surrounding Michael Brown’s death remain unclear, there’s quite a bit of information available about today’s incident. According to Dotson, the suspect ignored repeated calls to stop and police only fired when the suspect came within a few feet of the officers with a knife.
Though it’s unclear if there are any videos of the incident — the police have urged anyone with cell-phone footage to please come forward — there were multiple witnesses, including a local alderwoman.
Dotson’s press conference, which went into even more detail, is below.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."