# St. Louis Police Interrupt Apparent Execution-Style Shooting



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*BY BILL BRYAN *
_St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)_









ST. LOUIS Two off-duty city police officers interrupted an apparent execution-style shooting early Wednesday and ended up wounding four men outside a nightspot where there has been other recent trouble, authorities said.
Neither of the officers was injured. Their names were not released.
A total of five men were shot and wounded, one of them critically, about 2:30 a.m. near Spruill's Night Club, in the 1100 block of North Jefferson Avenue.
Four of the wounded men and another man were booked on suspicion of various charges; warrants were sought Wednesday evening.
It was the second police-involved shooting outside of Spruill's in less than three weeks.
Authorities say that the two officers, in uniform though off-duty, were working for Spruill's as security guards and were on the parking lot escorting patrons to their cars when they heard several shots fired to the north, at Stoddard Street and North Jefferson.
The officers saw three or four men standing over a man, firing shots into him at point-blank range, authorities said. The officers yelled that they were police, and the men pointed their guns at the officers, the officers told police.
Although the officers said they didn't see muzzle flashes, they did hear more shots and assumed they were under attack so they returned fire, authorities said. The gunmen jumped into a nearby car and sped south on Jefferson.
Minutes later, a car containing five men -- four of them suffering gunshot wounds -- appeared at St. Louis University Hospital. Police went there and arrested the driver, who was unhurt.
The four passengers had various wounds, none considered life-threatening, and two of the men were later released to police custody.
A handgun believed to have been thrown from the car was recovered.
The 28-year-old man shot in the street was wounded in the face, abdomen and chest, and was in critical but stable condition at an undisclosed hospital.
Detectives were unable to interview him. His name was not released.
Police said they believe some or all of the men involved had been inside the club.
On Sept. 24, a St. Louis police officer working as a guard at Spruill's shot and wounded a 22-year-old man who had just shot another man during an early morning fight outside the club.
Police indicated Wednesday they will seek a review of the club's liquor license.

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