Police and suspects exchange gunfire during the pursuit Saturday morning

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – An adult and three juveniles were arrested after they shot at a North County Police Cooperative officer during a chase early Saturday morning, authorities said.

Sergeant. Tracy Panus, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis County Police Department, said the incident began around 2:20 a.m. when a St. Louis police officer saw a stolen Kia sedan in the 2600 block of Locust Street. The vehicle had been taken a short time earlier from the 2100 block of Chambers Road in north St. Louis County.

The suspects in the Kia were also manipulating other cars on the same block of Chambers Road when they were interrupted by a person in the area. There was then an exchange of gunfire between the suspects and the person who interrupted them. No one was injured, Panus said.

After St. Louis County police dispatchers relayed information about the shooting and stolen car to other county agencies, a St. Louis police officer saw the Kia and heard automatic gunfire in the 2600 block of Locust Street. Panus said the officer also saw a person get into the passenger side of the car.

The St. Louis police officer pursued the Kia into St. Louis County, where officers from the North County Police Cooperative took over.

During the pursuit, the suspects shot at an officer, who returned fire, Panus said. The pursuit ended in the 9700 block of Winkler Drive in north St. Louis County when the Kia became inoperable. The suspects jumped out of the vehicle and fled.

Officers pursued the suspects on foot and arrested a man and two boys. A short time later, a third boy was taken into custody. The age of those arrested was not initially known. Neither the officers nor the suspects were injured, Panus said.

The North County Cooperative Police Officer involved in this incident is 28 years old and has 5 years of law enforcement experience.

Investigators later found several dozen spent cartridges in the 2600 block of Locust Street. No one was injured at this location.

Two weapons were confiscated during the investigation. One gun was equipped with an automatic trigger, making it fully automatic.

The adult suspect was held in the St. Louis County Jail while the three younger suspects were held in the St. Louis County Family Court.

The North County Police Cooperative, which serves eight communities in northern St. Louis County, hired the St. Louis County Police Department’s Bureau of Crimes Against Persons to conduct the investigation.

Police asked anyone with information to call 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).