This weekend, officers in Jennings, Missouri, shot and killed a man who allegedly charged at them carrying a knife.
Friday night, the mother of Thaddeus McCarroll called police for help, saying her son had barricaded himself in their home and was acting erratically. St. Louis County Police say they were warned the young man had a knife and was talking about a “black revolution” and a “mission.”
Police claimed in a statement that they looked through a window and saw McCarroll pacing around with several knives and a Samurai sword. After an hour of coaxing, negotiators were able to lure McCarroll from the house.
However, they say he walked out holding a Bible in one hand and a knife in the other.
The county police department has released footage from an officer’s body camera. Visibility is choppy, but you can clearly hear officers trying to persuade McCarroll to put down the knife.
“I need to know why you are angry,” an officer says. “Is it your mom? Is it you?”
Moments later, you can hear a single shot, a brief pause, and then a barrage of gunfire erupts.
Jennings is a St. Louis suburb near Ferguson, Missouri. Since unarmed teenager Michael Brown was killed by a Ferguson cop in August, police departments throughout the area have all been under heightened scrutiny.
“This is another tragic situation where police officers had no other option than to use deadly force against an armed subject,” said St. Louis County Chief of Police Jon Belmar in a statement Saturday. “A family lost a loved one tonight and that is tragic, there is no understating that. My officers took every precaution to safely resolve this situation.”
Local coverage below.