The shooting

North County Cooperative Police Officer Michael Langsdorf was called to Clay’s Wellston Food Market in the 6200 block of Page shortly after 4:30 p.m. after receiving a report of someone writing a bad check.

After arriving at the scene, the 40-year-old officer was confronted by the suspect, identified as Bonette Kymbrelle Meeks, during which a struggle ensued inside the store near the counter, according to police. Video surveillance inside the store reportedly captured the entire incident as it unfolded.

Police said during the struggle, the officer and suspect ended up on the floor. Major Ron Martin described the following moments during a press conference Monday morning:

“At some point Officer Langsdorf was on top of Meeks, I don’t know how, looking at the video, Mr. Meeks was able to do it, but he was able to pull a gun from his waistband, strike Officer Langsdorf in the side of the head a few times, which caused Officer Langsdorf to be in kind of a daze and lose his hold on Mr. Meeks. Mr. Meeks was able to stand up and stand over Officer Langsdorf as Officer Langsdorf was on the ground facedown, stomach down. Mr. Meeks had the gun in his hand, pointed the gun to the back of Officer Langsdorf’s head and fired one shot.”

Martin said the bullet struck Officer Langsdorf in the neck, traveled to his spinal cord and out his front chest. The officer was then rushed to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 5:15 p.m.

“Mr. Meeks was successful in executing a cop yesterday, and a good one,” said Martin.

Through tears Martin expressed gratitude to all the responding agencies and those at the market who helped Langsdorf get aid.

Meeks was later arrested in the 6220 block of Page. He was reportedly still carrying the gun used to fatally shoot Officer Langsdorf.

Officer Langsdorf

Officer Langsdorf had been employed by the department for three months but worked for another department for 17 years. During a press conference Monday morning, police said Langsdorf previously worked from the St. Louis City Police Department.

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“Mike was an outstanding officer,” said North County Cooperative Police Chief John Buchannan. “In his short time with our department, he was taking our young officers under his wings and was mentoring and guiding them. When we first met he said to me several times, ‘All I wanted to be was be a police officer and do police work. ‘“

Langsdorf leaves behind a fiancee, two teenage children and his parents.

Major Martin said he had known Langsdorf for 20 years and that he was a “good one.”

“Mike was a pretty big part of us even though he was here for a short time,” said Martin. “He had a lot of police experience, you never would’ve thought that this type of police officer would have been in that position, but it happened. There’s no such thing as a routine call, this is the dangers that police officers in this community face every day.”

BackStoppers is aiding the fallen officer’s family. According to the non-profit organization, when a first responder dies their family receives a check for $10,000 with assurance of further help. The organization said their goal is to make the family debt-free and provide ongoing support for education and other extraordinary expenses.

The suspect

Bonette Kymbrelle Meeks came to the St. Louis-area from North Carolina. During a press conference Monday morning, police said they believed Meeks came to the area earlier this year after spending most of his adulthood in North Carolina.

According to police, Meeks has been convicted of multiple felonies in North Carolina.

“I can tell you its an extensive, extensive criminal history and violent,” said Major Martin.

The 26-year-old suspect was not injured during the incident.

Monday morning, police said Meeks confessed to murdering Langsdorf.