ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged two of the men arrested in connection with the Wednesday afternoon shooting of two St. Louis police officers.
August Burns, 23, and Clyde Thomas, 35, were each charged with resisting arrest, and Burns was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the incident. A third man involved in the incident, who was shot and killed by police, was identified as 23-year-old Equan Hopson.
According to a press release from the St. Louis County Police Department, which is handling the investigation, officers from the city spotted a car at around 1 p.m. on the 800 block of River Trail Court. The car, a white Toyota 4Runner, was wanted in connection with a Tuesday night homicide.
The officers tried to pull that car over, but the driver of the car sped off. The release said officers followed that car into St. Louis County, where it eventually crashed near the intersection of West Florissant Avenue and Lang Drive.
The people inside the car ran off, and when the officers got out of their car, at least one of the suspects opened fire on them. The officers then returned fire. Two officers were shot, as was one of the suspects, Equan Hopson.
According to a press release announcing the charges, the two officers that were shot on Wednesday remained in the hospital on Thursday. One of the officers remained in critical condition. Hopson died at the hospital on Wednesday, police said.
According to a probable cause statement, police said Burns was in the back seat of the 4Runner. When he jumped out of the car to run away, a shotgun fell out of the car. When he was arrested, police said Burns was wearing an ammunition carrier that was holding shotgun shells.
A separate probable cause statement said Thomas was also inside the car and tried to run from police when the car came to a stop. He was caught and arrested.
Burns is being held on a $250,000, cash-only bond, and Thomas' bond was set at $50,000, cash only.
Multiple police sources tell 5 On Your Side the car officers were chasing today was connected to a homicide outside the Royal Palace Nightclub in the 4200 block of Natural Bridge early Wednesday morning. Sources say the homicide victim was one of several men who robbed someone there.