Missouri police fatally shoot man who injured relatives with hammer
By Sue Britt
St. LOUIS (Reuters) - A Missouri man who had seriously wounded his sister and nephew with a hammer was shot to death by police after he repeatedly refused orders to drop his weapon, an official said on Friday.
Jacob Hohman, 30, of the St. Louis suburb of Lakeshire, died of his injuries in a hospital on Thursday night after being shot by both a veteran Lakeshire sergeant and a St. Louis County police officer, said Brian Schellman, spokesman for the St. Louis County Police.
Hohman had attacked his 33-year-old sister and his 12-year-old nephew in their shared apartment with both a hammer and a knife, Schellman said. A neighbor in the apartment complex had called police after she heard a woman screaming and opened her door to find the boy, who had been able to escape the attack and was badly bleeding.
When police arrived, they found Hohman's sister lying in the doorway of the apartment. Hohman came out of the residence armed with the hammer, and ignored orders from officers to drop it, Schellman said.
The Lakeshire sergeant fired twice at Hohman, striking him, but Hohman was able to get back up. Hohman then came at a St. Louis County officer, who shot six more times, Schellman said.
Police gave Hohman first aid, but he died later at a local hospital, Schellman said.
Hohman's sister had cuts to her throat, face and hands and sustained blunt force trauma to her head. The boy had a large laceration to his back, cuts to his arms and hands and blunt force trauma behind his ear, Schellman said.
Both victims were transported to a local hospital where they are currently in stable condition, Schellman said.
Both the officers and Hohman are white. Both the Lakeshire officer, who has 44 years of experience, and the St. Louis officer, who has eight years, have been placed on administrative leave pending a internal investigations.
The St. Louis County Police Department's Bureau of Crimes Against Persons is investigating the incident.
(Reporting by Sue Britt in St. Louis; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Lisa Lambert)
