Holly MatkinSt. Louis, MO – An off-duty Northwoods police officer working a second job as a security officer at a bar shot an armed suspect who opened fire on a group of people outside the business Oct 28.
The incident occurred outside The Other Place II Bar and Grill at about 11:19 p.m. on Oct. 28, according to KSDK.
The off-duty Northwoods police officer was wearing a nylon jacket with the word “Police” written on the front and back, as well as a baseball cap with “Police” emblazoned on the front at the time of the violent attack, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
St. Louis police said the incident began as a dispute inside the bar that spilled out onto the street.
The Northwoods police officer said he noticed a man arguing with an elderly woman near a vehicle outside the establishment just before the same man grabbed a gun and charged towards a group of people who had gathered nearby, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
When the off-duty officer went to confront him, the gunman shot at him and into the crowd, hitting a 52-year-old man, according to investigators.
The Northwoods police officer immediately took cover and returned fire, wounding the shooter.
The gunman fled the scene, but soon turned up at a local hospital suffering from a gunshot wound, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Police said the 25-year-old suspect was critically injured.
The 52-year-old man who was wounded in the attack was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The 30-year-old Northwoods police officer, a nine-year law enforcement veteran, was uninjured in the attack and is cooperating with St. Louis police, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
He has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, as per protocol, KSDK reported.
The St. Louis Police Department Force Investigation Unit is handling the ongoing investigation into the attack.
No charges had been filed as of Friday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
