St. Louis airport police fatally shoot knife‑wielding man after Taser attempt
About 1:05 a.m. in Terminal 1 at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, two airport police officers shot and killed a man who was wielding a knife and refused to drop it after one officer deployed a Taser and a second officer fired; the encounter occurred near the MetroLink/light-rail line outside security. The Terminal One MetroLink station was closed for about three hours with shuttle buses to Terminal Two while the airport stayed open and travel was not impacted, and St. Louis County Police Department Crimes Against Persons detectives are leading the investigation; the officers had roughly six months and one year of airport police service with prior law‑enforcement experience.
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📌 Key Facts
- A knife-wielding man was fatally shot by St. Louis airport police after an attempted Taser deployment.
- The encounter occurred at about 1:05 a.m. in Terminal 1 near the light-rail line outside security during routine security checks.
- According to reports, the suspect refused to drop the knife, was tased by one officer, continued advancing, and a second officer then fired.
- Two airport police officers were involved; they have about 6 months and 1 year of service respectively and had prior law-enforcement experience.
- The St. Louis County Police Department is leading the investigation, with the County's Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives reviewing the incident.
- MetroLink service to the Terminal 1/Terminal One station was halted and replaced by shuttle buses (closure lasted approximately three hours) before service later reopened.
- Airport officials said the airport remained open and operations continued normally; KMOV reported travel plans were not impacted and Airport CEO Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge affirmed normal operations during the investigation.
📰 Sources (3)
Knife-wielding man in St. Louis airport shot and killed by police
New information:
- Incident time: about 1:05 a.m. local time in Terminal 1 during routine security checks.
- Sequence: suspect refused to drop knife; was tased by one officer; continued advancing; a second officer then fired.
- Terminal One MetroLink station closure lasted approximately three hours, with shuttle buses bridging to Terminal Two.
- St. Louis County Police Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives are reviewing the incident.
- Airport CEO Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge said airport operations continued normally during the investigation.
Man shot and killed at St. Louis airport after wielding knife, police say
New information:
- Light-rail service to Terminal 1 was briefly halted and replaced by shuttles; service later reopened and the airport remained open.
- KMOV reported travel plans were not impacted.
- The two officers involved are with the airport police department and have 6 months and 1 year of service respectively, with prior law-enforcement experience.
- St. Louis County Police Department is leading the investigation.
- Incident location clarified as near the light-rail line outside security.