Police: Gun residue found on hand of teen killed by officer

Gunshot residue was on the hand, waistband and shirt of an 18-year-old man killed by a St Louis police officer, authorities said.

Police union leaders said the lab test by the Missouri State Highway Patrol dispels claims Vonderrit Myers didn’t shoot at the officer on October 8, initiating a fatal exchange of gunfire. The shooting led to a new wave of protests in St Louis, two months after a white officer, Darrell Wilson, in neighbouring Ferguson shot and killed an unarmed black 18-year-old, Michael Brown.

St Louis Police Officers’ Association business manager Jeff Roorda cited other evidence against Myers during a news conference: Social media photos that Roorda said show Myers holding three guns, one of them a 9mm Smith & Wesson. Roorda said it was likely the stolen gun Myers allegedly used to shoot at the officer. He did not provide copies of the photos.