Man Allegedly Shoots Himself During Altercation with Police

According to reports, an 18-year-old man shot himself in the face Wednesday (Oct. 28), during an altercation with police in Normandy, Missouri, near Ferguson, Missouri. The man who was allegedly suicidal, is alive. Witnesses beg to differ on how the incident transpired.

According to USA Today,

The events unfolded shortly after 2 p.m. local time, according to St. Louis County police.
Members of the man's family were seeking help from police and medical responders, according to the police agency. Officers from Normandy, Mo., drove to the scene and tried to talk with the man, but he was uncooperative, according to police.
As the officers got out of their patrol car, "the male retrieved a handgun from his waistband, firing at the officers," Cpl. Tameika Sanders, public information officer for the Normandy, Mo., Police Department, said during a Wednesday evening press conference.
One of the Normandy officers attempted to use a taser on the man to subdue him, but it "was ineffective,"Sanders said.
"Officers returned fire, however, it appears at this time the male was not struck by law enforcement gunfire," she said.
The man ran away from the officers through back yards and they lost sight of him as they heard a gun shot, according to police. When officers found the man, he was lying on the ground, unresponsive, police said.
Witness Deron Smith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the young man did not appear to be carrying a gun because he was using two hands to scale a fence. - USAToday

In a separate report from HuffPost, a witness who asked to remain anonymous, told a different story of what she saw on Wednesday afternoon, and it involved two officers who were near the young many who allegedly shot himself. The witness alleges that officers were "six or seven feet away" from him, when one officer shot him in the face.

"We heard approximately six gunshots ring out. I yelled and told my daughter to get down," she said.
"He was right at eye level as [the officer] shot him," the witness continued. "It was not a suicide. At all."
Deron Smith told the St. Louis Dispatch that he saw the teenager running from the officers, but that he didn't appear to be holding a gun because he was using two hands to scale a fence. - HuffPost

Police reportedly found a gun at the scene.

Normandy is only minutes from Ferguson, the suburb where 18-year-old Michael Brown was gunned down by police officer Darren Wilson in 2014, who faced no charges in the teens death. The St. Louis Police Department is assisting in the investigation.

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