Retired St. Louis police captain killed outside looted pawn shop

A retired St. Louis police captain was found dead in the early hours of Tuesday morning outside of a looted pawn shop, local media reported.

David Dorn, 77, was found dead of a gunshot wound outside the shop on Martin Luther King Drive around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, a St. Louis-area CBS affiliate reported.

St. Louis, like most major cities in the U.S., has seen widespread demonstrations and violence following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis police custody last week.

“He was murdered by looters at a pawnshop. He was the type of brother that would’ve given his life to save them if he had to. Violence is not the answer, whether it’s a citizen or officer,” the Ethical Society of Police of St. Louis, which represents black officers in the city, said in a statement.

Dorn is survived by his wife Ann, who works for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, according to the station.

President Trump commemorated Dorn in a tweet late Tuesday:

Our highest respect to the family of David Dorn, a Great Police Captain from St. Louis, who was viciously shot and killed by despicable looters last night. We honor our police officers, perhaps more than ever before. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/0ouUpoJEQ4

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2020

“David Dorn was a fine captain, many of us young officers looked up to him,” Police Chief John Hayden said in a statement. Dorn worked for the department for 38 years before becoming chief of police in Moline Acres, Mo.

Former St. Louis County police Chief Tim Fitch called Dorn a “true public servant,” adding “none of us who knew you are surprised you went out fighting.”

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

Several people on social media claimed to have witnessed Dorn’s killing in a Facebook Live broadcast that was taken down shortly after, but the company later said the removal was a mistake and that it did not violate any company policies on violent content.

“We’re saddened by what took place in St. Louis yesterday,” a Facebook spokesperson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Under our policies, the video has been covered with a warning screen but remains on the platform so that people can raise awareness or condemn this event.”

–Updated June 3 at 12:55 a.m.