A police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Berkeley, which is near Ferguson, fatally shot a suspect who pointed a gun at him last night, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The man killed was Antonio Martin, 18, said his mother, Toni. Several protesters also arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting. Many stayed overnight. St. Louis County police said the incident started about 11:15 p.m. as the Berkeley officer “was conducting a routine business check” at a gas station.
The officer saw two people outside the station, got out of his vehicle and approached them. One of the suspects pulled out a handgun. “Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him,” said the county police. “The second subject fled the scene.” Just after the shooting, several dozen people gathered outside the gas station, which was ringed by crime scene tape. The crowd included ministers and some of the people who have been active in the protests related to the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, 18, by a Ferguson police officer in August.