A retired police captain was shot and killed by looters who posted the killing on Facebook Live.
David Dorn, 77, was shot in the torso at about 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday by looters at a St. Louis pawnshop and died on the sidewalk in front of the shop, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Police don’t currently have anyone in custody or any suspects. Several people have told them they witnessed the shooting during a Facebook Live broadcast and a member of the Ethical Society of Police, a group that represents black police officers in St. Louis, said it was aware of the broadcast.
Missouri state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge was one of the people who said he witnessed the shooting on Facebook.
“Very traumatized right now,” he told a reporter.
Facebook took the video down, and a spokesperson said the company was trying to find out more information about who posted it.
Dorn’s wife told the media that her husband was a friend of the owner of the pawnshop and would regularly show up when the burglar alarm would go off to make sure everything was secure at the shop.
Dorn retired in 2007 from the St. Louis Police Department after 38 years on the force, where he rose from a rookie patrol officer in 1969 to captain.
Former St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch remembered Dorn in a tweet.
“A true public servant,” Finch wrote. “Protecting & serving all the way to the end. None of us who knew you are surprised you went out fighting at Lee’s Pawn this morning. God speed my friend. #DavidDorn”:
A true public servant. Protecting & serving all the way to the end. None of us who knew you are surprised you went out fighting at Lee’s Pawn this morning. God speed my friend. #DavidDorn pic.twitter.com/i9X7q9hKIc
— Tim Fitch (@ChiefTimFitch) June 2, 2020
Protests, riots, and looting have broken out across the country, sparked by the death of George Floyd when he was in police custody. A white police officer can be seen on a video kneeling on Floyd’s neck for an extended period of time until he loses consciousness.
The officer has been charged with third-degree murder, and he, along with three other officers, was fired as a result of the incident.
