St. Louis police officer, the 8th shot since June, dies from his injuries

 

A St. Louis police officer who was shot while responding to a call Saturday has died, marking the latest round of summer violence in the Gateway City.

Officer Tamarris Bohannon suffered a head wound when he was shot while responding to a late-afternoon call involving a gunman, St. Louis Police Commissioner John Hayden told reporters Saturday.

After Bohannon was shot, one of the officers who was working to assist him was shot in the leg by the same suspect, Hayden said.

The suspect then ordered a couple out of their home and barricaded himself in the house before police were eventually able to take him into custody, officials said.

Bohannon, who was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, died Sunday.

"It is with the heaviest of hearts that we report that our critically injured officer has died," the St. Louis Police Department said in a statement on social media. "We cannot express how much we appreciate the hospital staff who continuously treated both officers for their injuries."

The other officer was released from the hospital earlier in the day.

Bohannon was the eighth St. Louis officer shot since June, Hayden said. He had been a member of the department for more than three and a half years, according to officials.

His death comes three days after the widow of a former St. Louis police captain who was killed during a June protest in the city spoke out against recent violence in taped remarks at the Republican National Convention.

In a post on social media Saturday after the shooting, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said, "Teresa & I are praying for the officers and their families. This violence must end!"