Officer Hit By Van Attempting To Arrest Suspected Shoplifters

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO — A south county shopping center erupted into gunfire Wednesday night when an off-duty police officer attempted to stop several shoplifters. The Post-Dispatch reports the officer had been shopping at Costco on Rusty Road shortly after 6 p.m. when a store employee told him two people were stealing merchandise. The St. Louis County officer, who was not in uniform, followed the accused shoplifters into the parking lot where they fled in a van. The officer pursued in an unmarked police car.

The officer stopped the van at a dead end road less than a mile from the Costco, near a doctor's office and several other businesses. The van's driver attempted to flee but was arrested. Another passenger did not flee and was also arrested.

As the officer was taking the two into custody, another person — who was hidden in the van — attempted to run the officer down. The officer was struck and suffered non-life threatening injuries, according to a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Police Department. The officer shot at the driver, who escaped, along with a forth person police believe may have been in the van.

Police don't know whether the officer hit either of the van's occupants. Police found the van, not long after the shooting, abandoned in the 4500 block of Pennsylvania Ave. in south St. Louis City, several miles north along Interstate 55 from where the shooting and suspected shoplifting occurred.

Anyone with information should contact St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers toll free at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477). All callers can remain anonymous. Tips can also be submitted through the CrimeStoppers website or free app.