GREEN PARK, Mo. _ A St. Louis County police officer answering a disturbance call here before dawn Thursday was shot to death by a teenager who was then critically wounded by a back-up officer's return fire, authorities say.
Officer Blake Snyder, 33, was hit once in the chin and pronounced dead at St. Anthony's Medical Center. Police Chief Jon Belmar said, "It was an immediately fatal wound."
Trenton Forster, 18, of South County, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, with bail set at $1 million. Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said Forster was expected to survive despite being hit by at least four or five shots.
McCulloch said Forster's only criminal past appears to be a felony marijuana charge that, according to court documents, was brought by the same officer who shot him.
Belmar said he was not drawing any connection there.
The officers were dispatched about 5 a.m. to a home in the small city of Green Park, which is northwest of the South County Center mall. Forster allegedly had been beating on the door.
Sgt. Shawn McGuire said Forster had a relationship with a girl who lived there.
Snyder approached Forster, by then sitting in a car parked outside, and was shot "almost immediately," officials said. The second officer, who arrived separately, exchanged shots with Forster and was not hurt.
Charging documents say a witness saw the shooting and identified Forster as the gunman. A pistol was recovered at the scene.
On Forster's public Twitter account, he has written a lot about drugs _ from marijuana to ecstasy _ with harsh language and anti-police commentary.
In May, he wrote: "I want (expletive) the police carved into my grave." In early September, he called the court system "twisted" and suggested he was "gonna have the last laugh."
He also made recent references to owning a gun, writing in August that, "The compact .40 (caliber) send all my enemies to hell," and, in May, "There's no name on a bullet."
He talks a lot about not feeling understood, and feeling worthless.
Forster lives about a mile from the shooting scene, according to police. No one answered the door when a reporter visited Thursday.
Neighbors said Forster lived there with his mother, a single parent, and one sister. They said they saw him play basketball outside, and sometimes get rowdy with friends, but didn't know much else about him.
Forster attended Lindbergh High School and was a junior when he withdrew in May, said district spokswoman Beth Johnston. She could not provide details about his time there.
County police arrested Forster in November 2015 on a charge of possession of marijuana, a felony, according to court records. A caller at his home address had alerted police to drug activity and gave officers consent to search the dwelling.
Officers found a backpack containing three glass jars full of marijuana and "a large amount of U.S. currency." Police said Forster admitted the cash was his and came from the sale of drugs. A settlement conference in his case was set for later this month.
Snyder, who lived in Edwardsville, Ill., had been with the department at least four years and was assigned to the Affton Southwest precinct. He leaves behind a wife and 2-year-old son.
The Backstoppers Inc., a nonprofit that assists survivors of fallen St. Louis area first responders, already provided the family an initial check for $5,000, and a promise to do more.
In a news conference, Belmar called Snyder a "tremendous police officer" and said it was a "tough day" for his department.
Among public officials offering condolences was St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger, whose statement said, in part, "This demonstrates the extreme danger that first responders face every day. Our police have my steadfast support and I pledge to do everything I can to provide them with all the resources they need to ensure their safety."
Snyder is the 10th county officer killed in the line of duty since the department's inception in 1955. The most recent had been Sgt. Richard Weinhold, 44, shot to death on Halloween afternoon in 2000 at a disturbance call.
Forster apparently was in the driver's seat of a car when Snyder pulled up, Belmar said, and the officer ordered him to show his hands. The man pulled a 9-millimeter pistol and fired before being struck by the other officer's bullets. All three men are white.
Police said they were not looking for any other suspects.
Neither the officers nor their cars were equipped with cameras, Belmar said.
Jennifer Kunz, 56, who lives beside the home where it started, said an older woman, her daughter and her 16-year-old granddaughter live there.
Nothing was amiss when Kunz walked her dog at about 4:45 a.m., she said. But later, one of the women next door called her at work to say the girl's boyfriend had been shot.
"I was shocked," Kunz said. "People walk this neighborhood day and night and nothing ever goes on around here."
Vicki Englund, a former state representative and a current member of the Lindbergh School Board, lives catty-corner from the shooting and heard the gunshots. "You think it's a car backfiring," she said. "What else could it be?"
She said she didn't see what happened, but, "I heard couple shots, then a pause, then I heard 10 or so in a row and someone yell, 'Get back in the house,' or, 'Are you gonna get back in the house?' in a very strong, controlled voice." She added, "And then a few more shots."
A woman who lives nearby said she'd seen that car sitting on Arno all night, and the night before.
Several houses from the scene, Karen Thevel was awakened by her daughter about 5:05 a.m., saying she thought she heard five or six shots, then two or three more.
"We moved here about a month or so ago and we began hearing about how there had been a recent increase in crime." Thevel said. "My daughter got her wallet stolen from her car, and other cars had been broken into recently."
"I grew up in Oakville and I know this neighborhood; I couldn't wait to move into here because the crime is like zero _ at least until recently," she said.
Jack Buck III, the famous late sportscaster's grandson, lives around the corner and three houses up from the scene and said he was awakened by the commotion. "It was an exchange of pop-pop, pop-pop-pop," he said. "Maybe eight to 12 shots."
Buck described Green Park as a small, middle-class community that was relatively free of crime until about a month ago. Last week, someone on a nearby street reported a burglary. And about four weeks ago, nearly every car on his street was broken into, he said.
Snyder's death comes about three months after a Ballwin officer was shot and paralyzed July 8. Officer Michael Flamion is being treated at a rehabilitation hospital in Colorado. He was shot while returning to his patrol car during a traffic stop on New Ballwin Road, police said. Antonio Taylor, 31, was charged in the shooting.
