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Police shoot, kill 15-year-old suspected of carjacking

The police-involved shooting took place near the 3200 block of St. Louis Avenue late Tuesday morning.
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Updated 2:50 p.m. April 20 with identity of young man shot by police: St. Louis police have identified a 15-year-old as the victim of a fatal police shooting during a chase involving a car that authorities say had been stolen at gunpoint.

Jorevis Scruggs died Tuesday morning after reportedly pointing a stolen gun at two St. Louis police officers who were following the suspected stolen car.

The 30-year-old officer, whose name has not been released, is a white male with nearly eight years on the St. Louis police force. Scruggs was black.

Police haven't released the name of a 19-year-old who was also in the car that was reported stolen Monday night. He was arrested at the scene.

Authorities say a gun recovered at the shooting site was reported stolen in November.

A prayer gathering will be held Thursday morning at 10 at the site of the shooting.

Our original story: One person is dead after an officer-involved shooting on St. Louis' north side Tuesday, according to St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson.

Dotson told reporters that two officers were following a suspected stolen car with three people inside Tuesday morning.

"Uniformed police officers were riding in a marked patrol car when they saw a vehicle they believe was taken in that robbery, that carjacking last night," Dotson said. "As the officers attempted to stop that vehicle, they turned on their roof lights, turned on their siren, and the car attempted to elude them."

Dotson said the car pulled into an alley and the front-seat passenger ran away. Dotson said a white officer with more than seven years of experience fired multiple times and shot that suspect after he pointed a gun at police.

The shooting victim, who police said was a black man, was declared dead at the scene. He was not otherwise identified. The other passenger was taken into custody. The car was found abandoned about a mile away.

Neither officer was injured.

Dotson said he didn't know how many shots were fired by the unidentified officer or whether the suspect fired his gun. No cameras were in the police car at the time of the shooting, and Dotson said so far, police are unaware of any video capturing the incident; he urged any witnesses to come forward.

The department's Force Investigative Unit and circuit attorney Jennifer Joyce's office are conducting parallel investigations into the shooting. The officer will undergo drug and alcohol testing, per new department policy, and has been placed on administrative duties.