St. Louis police said Tuesday that they have evidence indicating a black teen who was fatally shot by an off-duty officer last week did fire a gun at that officer.
In the wake of the Oct. 8 shooting, two distinct stories emerged about what actually happened during the altercation. The family of the victim, 18-year-old Vonderrit Myers, Jr., was adamant that he was unarmed at the time of the shooting and was carrying nothing but a sandwich. Police said Myers was armed and fired at least three rounds at the off-duty officer during a chase.
The St. Louis Police Department issued a statement Tuesday saying that a forensics lab turned up gunshot residue on Myers’ right hand, shirt and inside the waistband and pockets of his jeans, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Gunshot residue can be found on anyone who was near a shooting, police cautioned.
The newspaper reported that ballistics evidence also showed three bullets that hit the ground near where the off-duty officer tried to take cover matched Myers’ gun.
