Missouri officer shot walking back to patrol car

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The Latest on the shooting of a police officer in suburban St. Louis (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

The St. Louis County police chief says the suspect the shooting of a police officer was on probation for a weapons violation in St. Louis.

Chief Jon Belmar said Friday at a news conference that the suspect, who police say shot the officer as he was walking back to his car during a traffic stop, also had been on probation for a stolen vehicle in Oklahoma and was picked up for a firearm violation in California. He was paroled in 2015.

Belmar said that the man likely will be charged in the shooting, which occurred shortly after 11 a.m. Friday in the west St. Louis suburb of Ballwin. Police said three shots were fired and the officer was at least hit once. He is in critical but stable condition in a local hospital.

Authorities did not provide the race or identity of the officer or the suspect.

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3:20 p.m.

The St. Louis County police chief says a suburban St. Louis police officer was “ambushed” by a man in his 30s.

Chief Jon Belmar said Friday at a news conference that the man likely will be charged in the shooting. Authorities did not provide the race of the officer or the suspect.

Ballwin Police Chief Kevin Scott said the investigation is ongoing and that he did not know the motive.

Scott says the officer, who has not been identified, has been one for nine years, two of which with the Ballwin department.

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3:10 p.m.

A suburban St. Louis police chief says a motorist shot an officer at least once as the officer walked back to his car during a traffic stop.

Chief Kevin Scott said Friday at a news conference that the incident was captured on video. The officer is in critical condition, but stable. His identity was not released.

Scott said at least three shots apparently were fired, and the officer was hit at least once.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar has told KMOV-TV that a suspect in the Friday morning shooting is in custody and that a gun was recovered.

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12:35 p.m.

Authorities say a police officer is hospitalized after being shot during a suburban St. Louis confrontation with a motorist.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar didn’t offer any immediate word about the medical status of the officer wounded during the shooting shortly after 11 a.m. Friday in Ballwin. But Belmar tells KMOV-TV the officer took “a hard hit.”

Belmar says a suspect is in custody, and a handgun has been recovered.

Details about what led to the officer’s initial interaction with the motorist weren’t disclosed. But Belmar says that after the shooting, the suspect sped away but abandoned that car and ran after it was spotted by a St. Louis County officer. The suspect was arrested after a short foot chase.

The wounded officer’s name wasn’t released.

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7/8/2016 4:34:56 PM (GMT -4:00)