The latest on the murder of Firefighter Leonard Riggins, St. Louis Fire Department

Firefighter Leonard Riggins, 52, was shot and killed by a carjacker in the Glasgow Village area of north St. Louis County.

Police say the chain of events began when a man carjacked a family’s vehicle. The thief took off, but wrecked the car.

Riggins was driving home when he witnessed the wreck.

He rushed to help the suspect, who shot the firefighter in the chest. The suspect took off in Riggins’ city fire department vehicle.

St. Louis County police caught up with the man and became involved in a shootout with him.

He was eventually shot and killed. The suspect’s name has not been released.

Police say over the course of 15 minutes, the suspect committed four carjackings and killed Firefighter Riggins.

Riggins joined the St. Louis Fire Department in 1993.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. He had also worked with the St. City Parks Department.

St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson called Riggins a close friend and confidant. The two worked together closely on a day-to-day basis.

“On every day that I’ve been there for the past approximate year, you could say he was always willing to help. He was always there to help anybody at the academy,” he said.

Riggins leaves behind a wife and children. City leaders call him an asset to the community.

“My heart, my prayers go out to his family and as many friends…this was a well liked, respected firefighter. He had a lot of friends. And he’s going to be sorely missed,” St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said.

Riggins was looking forward to getting settled in his new office the day he was killed, Jenkerson said.

“That was what he talked about before he left yesterday. We had done a bunch of remodeling down here. And he was going to have his own office, and a ton of duties. And that’s what he lived for. He liked what he did. He loved being a firefighter,” Jenkerson said.