St. Louis Post-Dispatch
FERGUSON, Mo. — Police on Tuesday arrested the man who investigators say repeatedly shot an off-duty police officer at a Walmart store in Ferguson last weekend.
St. Louis County police spotted the suspect about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday driving a black Mercedes Benz around Canfield Drive in Ferguson. The car matched one that fled the shooting Sunday evening, St. Louis County police said.
Police began tracking the car by helicopter before police then started a pursuit near Airport Road and North Florissant Road, authorities said.
The chase ended about five miles away in the 8900 block of Jennings Station Road in Jennings, when the driver pulled into a McDonald’s parking lot. He attempted to run from the car toward a nearby Dollar Tree store and was soon arrested.
No one was injured in the pursuit or arrest, police said.
The man, who police have not identified, was apprehended a day after authorities released images of him as the suspect in the shooting of the Calverton Park officer.
The officer was in uniform and working as a security guard at Walmart when he approached a man suspected of shoplifting. The suspect turned on the officer and shot him three times, twice in the torso and once in the arm. Authorities said the officer’s bullet-resistant vest protected him and he was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.
The officer, who hasn’t been identified, is 35 years old and has been with the Calverton Park force for 2½ years. He was later released and recovering at his home, Calverton Park police said Monday.
A Walmart loss-prevention employee and a Ferguson police officer were credited with aiding the wounded officer and working to stanch the bleeding from his arm.
The incident drew a heavy police response, with at least 30 police cars from around the region rushing to the store on West Florissant Avenue to offer help.
St. Louis County police are leading the investigation into the shooting.
No other details were immediately available Tuesday afternoon.