St. Louis police officer dies after being shot in the head

Tamarris L. Bohannon—a member of the St. Louis police force—was shot in the head on Saturday while responding to a barricading incident. He died of his injuries on Sunday, according to Fox News.

His family wrote a short letter that was then posted to Twitter, which mentioned that Bohannon was a "hero to many but most importantly to his loving wife and three incredible children."

“The loss of this great man is felt deeply within the St. Louis community and we ask for your prayers and support in the days ahead,” the letter added.

Bohannon was one of two police officers shot in the incident. The second officer was shot in the leg after responding to a shooting call in the Tower Grove South neighborhood around 6 pm Saturday. A man had reportedly barricaded himself inside a home and fired at police, Fox News reported.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief John Hayden stated that officers were "trying to do their job, that's all they're trying to do and they're suffering under gunfire." He continued by saying that this has been part of a "surge in violence," which has resulted in eight of his officers being shot since the beginning of June.

“We’re trying to cope through a very trying summer, and it’s very difficult. It’s very difficult,” he said.

Officers gathered Sunday evening to pay their respects to Bohannon, lining up their squad cars along a road and turning their lights on.

The 43-year-old suspect in the shooting was taken into custody early Sunday morning after a 12-hour standoff with law enforcement. It was reported that the suspect ordered a family out of their own home and barricaded himself inside.

Residents in the neighborhood were warned to stay inside their homes as SWAT officers entered the area. Officers were armed with rifles and "were placed around the residence where the suspect had retreated," according to the St-Louis Post Dispatch.

Fox News reported that the police have yet to release the sequence of events that ended the standoff. They ordered the suspect out of the house by firing tear gas into the home, but there were allegedly no gunshots fired.

Mimi and Steve Haag said they were attempting to call the police to help another man who had been wounded by gunfire when the gunman walked into their home.

“I saw then he had a gun,” Steve Haag told the outlet. “He was very calm standing there with it in his hand and he just says to Mimi: ‘Ma’am you need to get off the phone.’”

The Haags fleed through the back door and were reportedly not hurt during the incident.

Bohannon is survived by his wife, Alexis, and three children.