Ferguson : St. Louis County police have released surveillance video footage they say shows the 18-year-old black suspect who was critically wounded after being shot by police in Ferguson minutes before he fired a gun at plainclothes officers.
Tyrone Harris Jr. was shot late Sunday after police say he opened fire on an unmarked police van. The shooting happened as protesters nearby were marking the anniversary of the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was killed by a white police officer. Police on Tuesday released a 13-second clip of security camera footage from a West Florissant Avenue insurance office. They said it shows Harris grabbing a handgun from his waistband after gunshots ring out. Police have said as many as six people who were part of two feuding groups unrelated to the protest were firing the shots. During the gunfire, Harris apparently spotted plainclothes officers arriving in the unmarked van and fired at them, authorities have said.
Harris’ father disputed the police account Monday but declined to discuss his son’s shooting Tuesday. Tyrone Harris Jr. has been charged with 10 felonies — five counts of armed criminal action, four counts of first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and a firearms charge.
Online court records show that Tyrone Harris Jr. was charged in November with stealing a motor vehicle and a gun, as well as resisting arrest by fleeing. A court hearing in that case is scheduled for Aug. 31.
