Off-duty St. Louis firefighter who stopped to help out at crash was shot and killed. Found himself in the middle of a carjacking.
Firefighter Leonard Riggins
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We have been following this tragic story since about an hour after it happened Wednesday evening. Firefighter Leonard Riggins of the St. Louis Fire Department was shot in the chest and killed when he stopped to help out at what he though was a simple accident scene. Firefighter Riggins found himself facing the gun of a man who, before the crime spree was over, would be involved in four carjackings before being shot and killed by police.
Riggins was off-duty at the time and apparently was in uniform. There are reports he was in a fire department vehicle. The 52-year-old firefighter was a 14-year member of the department and leaves behind a wife and children.
Here is the latest from KSDK-TV:
Police were on the scene of a shooting in Glasgow Village involving an off-duty St. Louis firefighter Wednesday night. The firefighter died later at a local hospital.
The shooting happened at Shepley and Spring Garden drives around 5:00 p.m.
According to St. Louis County Police Chief Jerry Lee, investigators believe there were as many as four carjackings over a 15 minute period. That first carjacking occurred in a person’s driveway. The suspect took off but eventually crashed the vehicle.
Firefighter Leonard Riggins came upon the crash scene and attempted to help the carjacking suspect, unbeknownst to the driver’s previous actions. The carjacking suspect then shot Riggins in the chest and took his car, Lee said.
The suspect crashed again at Riverview Drive and Spring Garden, and attempted to carjack another person. He then got involved in a shootout with police and was shot in the middle of Riverview. He died at the scene.
No one else was injured during this incident, Lee said.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay wrote on his blog that he would order the city to lower its flags to half-staff.
Riggins, 52, was a 14-year veteran of the St. Louis Fire Department. He was near his home at the time of the shooting.
Here is the KSDK-TV report at 8:20 PM EST:
Police were on the scene of a shooting in Bellefontaine Neighbors involving an off-duty captain in the St. Louis Fire Department Wednesday night. That fire captain died at a local hospital.
The shooting happened at Shepley and Spring Garden around 5:00 p.m. The firefighter came upon a car crash and attempted to help the driver of the wrecked vehicle. The driver of that vehicle was actually a carjacking suspect, who then shot the fire captain in the chest and took his car.
St. Louis County police arrived at the scene, chased the suspect on foot, and shot and killed him.
This was the initial report from KSDK-TV:
Police are on the scene of a shooting in Bellefontaine Neighbors involving an off-duty captain in the St. Louis Fire Department.
The shooting reportedly happened at Shepley and Spring Garden around 5:00 p.m. The firefighter came upon a car crash and attempted to help the driver of the wrecked vehicle. The driver of that vehicle was actually a carjacking suspect, who shot the fire captain in the chest and took his car.
St. Louis County police arrived at the scene, chased the suspect on foot, and shot and killed him.
No word yet on the condition of the firefighter. NewsChannel 5 was told St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson went to Christian Hospital Northeast to check on the firefighter.
