Antonio Martin, Black Teen With Assault Record, Fatally Shot By White Police Officer In Berkeley, Missouri

Update 12:40 p.m. EST: St. Louis County police have confirmed that the man killed was Antonio Martin of St. Louis.

The officer's attorney, Brian Milliken, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch one of the men spoke with the officer, while the other kept wandering away despite the officer's commands to stay near him.

One of the individuals "produced a pistol with his arm straight out, pointing it straight at the officer kind of from across the hood," Belmar said.

Milliken said his client -- whom he would not identify -- recounted the details to him several hours after the shooting.

"The other guy was doing the talking, and as the cop starts talking, the suspect starts walking away again," Milliken said. "At that point, the cop says, 'Hey, come back here,' and he turns around, pulls a gun from his left pant pocket."

"He's trying to process all of this, and the suspect raises it, points it at him. The cop pulls his weapon and starts backpedaling and fired three or four shots. It happened that quickly. He doesn't understand why the suspect's gun didn't fire. I'm not sure if he tried to pull the trigger and it jammed."

Milliken said it's possible that his client was being set up for an ambush.

"Their behavior is certainly bizarre, and it wouldn't surprise me at all, in the environment we are in, that's for sure," Milliken said.

Meanwhile, Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins also said he will not release the name of the police officer.

The mayor said the city of Berkeley will conduct its own independent investigation of the shooting. “Jumping to conclusions before an investigation is not acceptable,” Hoskins said.

He also said body cameras are new for city's police; says training is still under way with them.

Update 8:14 a.m. EST: St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a press conference Wednesday that the officer who fatally shot Antonio Martin fired three rounds at the black teen, one of which hit the victim. The officer responsible is white and has six years of experience, Belmar added.

Belmar also revealed that Martin was “known to law enforcement” and had a record of assault and firearms offenses, according to The Guardian. He added that the police were looking for Martin’s friend, who was with him at the time and is a key witness.

Belmar also confirmed that the police officer was responding to reports of theft and added that “bad choices were made.”

The officer "responded with what he thought was commensurate force at the time," Belmar said, adding that "most of us would feel in imminent danger of losing our lives at that point."

Belmar said Martin was armed with a 9mm handgun with a defaced serial number when the officer shot him. The officer who shot and killed Martin was responding to a larceny at the time, the chief said at news conference starting at 7 a.m. local time.

Belmar did not name the officer who killed Martin, but confirmed that he is 34-year-old white male. He was not wearing a body camera at the time. Belmar did not refer to Martin by name either, saying not all of his family had yet been notified.

The policeman has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure after fatal incidents.

The officer fired three rounds at Martin, Belmar said. One shot hit the suspect, one hit a car, and one not located; Martin discharged no shots.

Police showed part of a surveillance video at the news conference, but stopped it at the point of the shooting to spare the dead man’s family.

Belmar said tear gas was not used during clashes with people gathered at the shooting scene, but pepper spray was. Four people were arrested.

Update 8 a.m. EST: The St. Louis County Police on Wednesday released surveillance footage from outside a gas station in Berkeley, Missouri, where a black teenager, Antonio Martin, was fatally shot by a police officer at about 11:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday night.

Update as of 4:20 a.m. EST: Protests continue at the scene where an armed black teen was shot by a police officer in Berkeley, Missouri. There were also reports of an explosive device and smoke, while others reported scuffles breaking out in the area. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the body of 18-year-old Antonio Martin remained on the parking lot in front of a gas station for at least two hours before it was taken away in an medical emergency vehicle.

An 18-year-old black teenager was fatally shot by a police officer late Tuesday at a Mobil gas station in Berkeley, Missouri, according to reports. Police arrested at least three protesters who attempted to confront police at the scene, The St. Louis-Post Dispatch reported.

The victim was identified as Antonio Martin by his mother Toni Martin though a statement from local police did not immediately confirm his identity. Martin’s body, which was found at the parking lot in front of the gas station, was moved into a medical examiner’s van, a reporter for the Post-Dispatch wrote on her Twitter account. A black gun was reportedly spotted near Martin's body. The incident, which took place about 2 miles northwest of Ferguson, which saw days of unrest over the shooting death of Michael Brown on Aug. 9, comes amid growing concerns in the United States over officer-involved shootings and the use of excessive force by law enforcement.

The St. Louis County police department released a statement on its Facebook page, which confirmed that an officer had fired several shots at a man who was one of two people stopped by him at the Mobile Gas Station located at 6800 N. Hanley at 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

"The Berkeley Police Officer exited his vehicle and approached the subjects when one of the men pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer. Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him. The second subject fled the scene," according to the statement, which did not identify the dead man as Martin.

The Post-Dispatch reported that Martin’s girlfriend was with him at the time of the shooting, while The Huffington Post reported that Martin’s friend Jesus Christo, 18, was with him at the time of the shooting. Christo told the Huffington Post that he and Martin were stopped by an officer who said they matched the descriptions of recent robbery suspects. He also added that the officer searched Martin.

“The officer then stepped back and drew his weapon and pointed at Antonio and told us to lay on the ground," Christo told the Huffington Post. “The officer then began to step back from us with his gun still aimed at us. He told Antonio to lay down once again and when Antonio didn't lay down the officer opened fire. And when I tried to get up to help my friend he screamed at me to stay down with his weapon still drawn."

However, subsequent reports said that Christo, whose real name is reportedly Des’Juan Garret, admitted on Twitter to having lied about witnessing Martin's death.

Protests were reported at the site where Martin was shot dead. Martin’s family had arrived at the scene while a crowd of nearly 100 people also gathered, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Some of the people at the scene were reportedly those who had actively been part of the protests over Brown's shooting by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson. Officers from the St. Louis County and Woodson Terrace departments also reportedly arrived at the scene.