Four suspects accused in Tuesday’s ambush shooting of a St. Louis police officer are in custody, officials reported Friday.
At least one of the suspects, Dale Wolford, 24, resisted arrest and was seen bloodied and bruised as officers brought him into a precinct house.
A second suspect, Aaron Collins, 23, turned himself in accompanied by his mother.
The other two arrested were Edward Davis, 27, arrested on Wednesday and an 18-year-old who also turned himself in. The latter pair may not be charged and were apparently sitting in the back seat of the assailant’s car. They may not have had a hand directly in the shooting.
The shooting has been termed an ambush of the officer, but the 18-year-old suspect insisted that the police officer fired first.
St. Louis police, though, dispute this claim. They say that video shows that the officer was shot as he sat in his car and that he never left the vehicle.
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson reported that the video is conclusive. “That video with the suspects car pulling directly in front of the Sergeant’s car, passenger got out of the car and immediately fired. The police officer never exited his vehicle. He was shot while he was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car and returned fire while he was seated in the driver’s seat of the car,” he said.
The chief also said that the only reason the sergeant survived the attack is because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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