This Article is From Aug 20, 2014

US Police Shoot Dead Man in St Louis Near Ferguson

US Police Shoot Dead Man in St Louis Near Ferguson

People raise their arms while chanting, "Hands up, Don't Shoot", as they stand nearby to where St. Louis police say officers shot and killed a 23-year-old man who was wielding a knife and refused to drop it on August 19, 2014 in St Louis, Missouri.

St Louis: Police in the US city of St. Louis shot dead another suspect on Tuesday, a short distance from a suburb that is the scene of protests over the killing of an unarmed black teenager.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said in a tweet that officers had responded to a call and found an apparently agitated man, armed with a knife who yelled "kill me now" and approached the patrol.

In a tweet from his own account retweeted by his force, Dotson said: "Officers gave suspect verbal commands. Officers feared for their safety and both officers fired their weapons. Suspect is deceased."

The world's media descended on the street where the latest police shooting took place, dozens of reporters having been in the nearby St. Louis suburb of Ferguson covering the ongoing unrest.

Onlookers gathered at the yellow incident tape sealing off the scene of Tuesday's shooting outside a convenience store in St. Louis, some of them chanting the slogan of the protests: "Hands up, don't shoot."

Captain Ed Kuntz told reporters at the scene that an investigation had been launched, but, based on what he had heard, "it seems reasonable to say it was justifiable."

"Whenever there's a police shooting, tensions are always more high," he admitted, while insisting: "Right now we are focused on preserving life and protecting property."

On August 9, a white officer in Ferguson shot and killed an 18-year-old unarmed black student, triggering more than a week of sometimes violent protests against heavy-handed police tactics.
.