St. Louis shooting: police shoot and kill knife-wielding robbery suspect Kajieme Powell
- 9 years ago
St. Louis police on Tuesday shot and killed a robbery suspect following an altercation at a convenience store. The incident occurred just 10 days after the controversial shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, and was 3.2 miles from Ferguson, where Brown was killed.
The shooting has lead to further unrest in the local community. On Tuesday afternoon, more than two hundred protestors chanted “Hands up, don’t shoot” - the same slogan protesters have shouted at rallies following Brown’s shooting - outside Six Stars Market on 8701 Riverview, where Kajieme Powell, 25, was killed. St. Louis City police chief Sam Dotson then arrived, and gave the press as well as the crowd the police account of the incident.
Dotson said at around noon on Tuesday, Powell took two energy drinks from the store without paying. Minutes later, he went to the store again, this time taking some pastry. The store proprietor followed him as he exited the store, and asked him to pay. Dotson said according to witnesses, including St. Louis alderman Dionne Flowers who works at the beauty parlor next door to the convenience store, Powell then threw the items onto the ground, and said he did not want them anymore.
Powell then reportedly began acting erratically, pacing back and forth in front of the market, talking to himself, and continuously grabbing his waistband. Employees at the market and the beauty parlor realized he had a knife, and called the police at around 12:20 pm.
Two police officers arrived shortly afterward in a cruiser. They asked Powell to calm down, but he became more agitated and began walking towards the officer in the passenger side, pulling out a knife from his waistband. Both officers got out of the car but without drawing weapons. They verbally told Powell to drop the knife, but he advances towards them, yelling, “shoot me, kill me now.”
The officers drew their guns, and shot Powell when he reached 2 to 3 feet in front of them, holding the knife in an “overhand
The shooting has lead to further unrest in the local community. On Tuesday afternoon, more than two hundred protestors chanted “Hands up, don’t shoot” - the same slogan protesters have shouted at rallies following Brown’s shooting - outside Six Stars Market on 8701 Riverview, where Kajieme Powell, 25, was killed. St. Louis City police chief Sam Dotson then arrived, and gave the press as well as the crowd the police account of the incident.
Dotson said at around noon on Tuesday, Powell took two energy drinks from the store without paying. Minutes later, he went to the store again, this time taking some pastry. The store proprietor followed him as he exited the store, and asked him to pay. Dotson said according to witnesses, including St. Louis alderman Dionne Flowers who works at the beauty parlor next door to the convenience store, Powell then threw the items onto the ground, and said he did not want them anymore.
Powell then reportedly began acting erratically, pacing back and forth in front of the market, talking to himself, and continuously grabbing his waistband. Employees at the market and the beauty parlor realized he had a knife, and called the police at around 12:20 pm.
Two police officers arrived shortly afterward in a cruiser. They asked Powell to calm down, but he became more agitated and began walking towards the officer in the passenger side, pulling out a knife from his waistband. Both officers got out of the car but without drawing weapons. They verbally told Powell to drop the knife, but he advances towards them, yelling, “shoot me, kill me now.”
The officers drew their guns, and shot Powell when he reached 2 to 3 feet in front of them, holding the knife in an “overhand