Police: Officers Fatally Shoot Man Who Charged at Them Near St. Louis; Incident Recorded on Bodycam

JENNINGS, Mo. (TheBlaze/AP) — Police officers shot and killed a suburban St. Louis man after he charged at them with a knife, authorities said Saturday.

A woman reported Friday night that her 23-year-old son, Thaddeus McCarroll, had locked her out of her home in Jennings and that she wanted him removed, St. Louis County Police said in a news release. The woman said he wasn't behaving normally and was talking about going on a "journey" and a "mission" and mentioned a "black revolution," police said.

The department uploaded body camera video of the incident to its YouTube page; the camera pointed toward McCarroll but he's obscured by officers in front. There is audio of the exchange between police and McCarroll, as well as of the shooting:

Through a window, officers could see McCarroll walking around the house with several knives and a Samurai sword, police said. They negotiated with McCarroll for about an hour before he left the home armed with a knife in one hand and a Bible in the other. The release said McCarroll refused orders to put down the knife and began walking toward officers.

Tactical officers fired a "less lethal round" at the man to disarm him, but he didn't stop, police said in the news release. He charged full-speed at the officers with a knife in his hand, and two officers shot him multiple times. He died at the scene.

Police Chief Jon Belmar described the shooting in a written statement as "another tragic situation where police officers had no other option than to use deadly force against an armed subject."

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