Police shoot, kill suspected carjacker in suburban St. Louis

SPANISH LAKE, Mo. (AP) — An off-duty deputy shot and killed a suspected carjacker Monday after he struck a 67-year-old man as he walked on a suburban St. Louis sidewalk with his 10-year-old grandson, authorities say.

St. Louis County police spokeswoman Tracy Panus said the suspect used a weapon to steal the truck from the 67-year-old at a McDonalds restaurant before making a U-Turn, veering into the sidewalk and hitting him. The carjacking victim’s injuries weren’t life threatening, and the child wasn’t hurt, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

A 51-year-old deputy, who is a sergeant in charge of a security detail at the courthouse, saw what happened while headed to work dressed in his uniform. He took off in pursuit after the truck crashed into a nearby yard, firing his weapon while chasing after the man, said Sheriff Vernon Betts.

The sheriff said the deputy who is a 19-year veteran of the city sheriff’s office called him from the scene, shaken. “There was some kind of altercation,” Sheriff Vernon Betts told the Post-Dispatch.

It wasn’t clear if the suspect had a weapon when he was confronted by the deputy. Panus said the deputy is cooperating with investigators.

The name of the slain suspect wasn’t immediately released.