St. Louis County Police have released a video they say shows the scene in front of a gas station in the St. Louis suburb of Berkeley moments before a man was fatally shot late Tuesday night by a police officer.
“This video shows the suspect pointing a gun at the officer,” the Department wrote in the video’s description.
The video stops at the point at which police say the suspect points the gun at the officer. Police say they don’t want the family to see the video of the man being shot.
The point at which police say the man produces a gun is just after 1:37 in the video:
The Department posted a description of the incident with the video:
“At approximately 11:15 PM on December 23, 2014, a police officer with the City of Berkeley was conducting a routine business check at the Mobile Gas Station located at 6800 N. Hanley when he observed two male subjects on the side of the building. The Berkeley Police Officer exited his vehicle and approached the subjects when one of the men pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer. Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him. The second subject fled the scene. The Berkeley Police Department requested the St. Louis County Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit to handle the investigation. St. Louis County Police Detectives have recovered the deceased subject’s handgun at the scene. At this time, I cannot confirm the identity of the deceased subject. The investigation is ongoing and further details will follow as they become available.”
Police say they are working with other videos of the incident.
Police will not confirm the identity of the man shot, but a woman named Toni Martin told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he was her son, 18-year-old Antonio Martin.
We’ll have more on this story and what police say the video shows later this morning.