A white police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old black man while responding to a report of a theft in Berkeley, Mo., late Tuesday night, reigniting tensions with the public.
The incident marks the first officer-involved shooting in St. Louis County since the Aug. 9 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told reporters in a press conference early Wednesday morning that the officer fired three shots at the young man after seeing him raise a gun. He claimed that the officer did not have time to use his Taser instead.
“Bad choices were made,” Belmar said.
The name of the victim has not been released, but St. Louis resident Toni Martin said it was her son Antonio.
#LIVE: Chief Belmar won't confirm the identity of the suspect, but Toni Martin says the deceased is son #AntonioMartin . @TheNowTampaBay
— Laura A. Harris (@LauraHarrisNBC5) December 24, 2014
Belmar said the victim was “known to law enforcement” for several assault and weapons charges.