Knife-Wielding Suspect Killed By St. Louis Police Identified

A 25-year-old man brandishing a knife that was shot and killed Tuesday by Missouri police has been identified as Kajieme Powell, KMOV reported.

St. Louis police officers encountered Powell while responding to a robbery at a store on Riverview Drive. Powell apparently tried to steal two energy drinks and was behaving erratically when he came across officers and produced a knife.

Powell told responding officers to "shoot me now, kill me now" as he held the knife above his head, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Sam Dotson told KMOV. Police told Powell to drop the blade but he stepped forward with the knife and officers opened fired. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting comes at a time tensions are already high between St. Louis law enforcement and the predominantly black Missouri suburb of Ferguson. Michael Brown, who was black like Kajieme, was shot to death by a white Ferguson police officer on Aug. 9. Rallies and protests have raged on in Ferguson ever since, with calls for justice and a speedy investigation into the shooting.

A video of the Tuesday incident from a witness shows the shooting occurred about 15 seconds after police arrived at the store, The Guardian reported. Before the shooting, Powell is seen walking up and down the sidewalk in front of the store wearing a dark-colored hoodie with his hand in his pocket.

Doris Davis, who also witnessed the shooting, said police did not need to use deadly force.

"I think it was excessive," Davis said according to the newspaper. "People said he had a knife but if he had a knife they could have shot him in the foot. Or Tasered him. They didn't have to kill him."

But Dotson said a Taser might not have been effective because of the suspect's hoodie. Officers "have a right to defend yourself," Doston told KMOV.

Mayor Francis Slay said there will be an "complete and transparent" investigation into the shooting, the station reported.

Unlike the violent protests that have been underway in Ferguson, a crowd of peaceful onlookers gathered outside the store in North St. Louis. Many expressed the same sentiment that police did not have to kill Powell.

"It's in their best interest, with Ferguson and everything going on, to use a Taser," local resident Tommy Lee told KMOV.