ST. LOUIS COUNTY —ÌýSt. Louis County police have identified the man who was shot and killed Friday during an arrest at a home as Aleksandr Lanis, 38.Ìý
Lanis was previously listed as an internist on Mercy health system's website. A Mercy spokeswoman said Lanis' role was terminated earlier this month.
"We were saddened to learn that the suspect involved in (the) officer involved shooting was a former Mercy physician," Mercy said in a statement. "Our prayers go out to all impacted, including the family and St. Louis County Police."
Two uniformed officers came to the house in the 1000 block of Hawkins Bend Drive just after 10 a.m. Friday intending to arrest a suspect in a previous first-degree harassment case they were investigating, Sgt. Tracy Panus told reporters.
An officer tears down crime scene tape in the 1000 block of Hawkins Bend Drive on Friday, March 21, 2025, after St. Louis County police shot a man who pulled a gun, authorities said.
While talking to officers just inside the home, the man later identified as Lanis pulled out a gun.
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The two officers began struggling with Lanis to get his gun. Ultimately, both officers fired off shots, killing Lanis, Panus said.
One officer suffered a minor injury to his hand during the struggle, but neither was shot during the incident.
“They did what they had to do to resolve the incident,†St. Louis County police Chief Kenneth Gregory said at the scene of the shooting.
Police on Friday afternoon said they did not know if Lanis fired his gun before he was killed.
A resident walks her dog in the 1000 block of Hawkins Bend Drive after a man was shot to death by St. Louis County police officers, who were attempting to make and arrest in a harassment case in south St. Louis County on Friday, March 21, 2025.
“I think in any neighborhood when something like this it is shocking and alarming,†Panus said. “We feel for this community.â€
The shooting was at the least the third officer-involved shooting in the region this month.
St. Louis police on March 8 shot 55-year-old Vincent Simmons in the torso after a car fled a traffic stop and crashed in an alley behind the 5000 block of Kingshighway.
Prosecutors charged Simmons with four felonies, including resisting arrest and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Then, on the morning of March 12, Leslie Hopkins was shot by St. Louis officers while wielding a butcher knife. The 72-year-old survived and was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action.
An officer was also severely injured this month while investigating a carjacking in the city.
On Monday morning, St. Louis Police Officer Nathan Spiess underwent a partial leg amputation after he was hit by a car on Interstate 70 while chasing a suspect.
That suspect was also hit and remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Editor's note: The story has been updated with the name and occupation of the man who was killed.
St. Louis County police officers work the scene in the 1000 block of Hawkins Bend Drive where a man was shot to death by officers, who were attempting to arrest him in a harassment case in south St. Louis County on Friday, March 21, 2025.
Police shootings in the St. Louis region in 2025
Outside a St. Louis bar on New Year's Day. Inside a doctor's home in Fenton.
At least eight times in 2025, police across the St. Louis region have shot a suspect.
Three of those shootings were fatal.
Here is a list of Post-Dispatch news articles about this year's police shootings.
Ìý
Eddie Washington, 28, was shot after wrestling with Overland police who confronted him on the parking lot of a Shell gas station.
St. Louis County police shot and killed Dr. Aleksandr Lanis, 38, when he pulled a gun on them during an arrest at his home, authorities said.
St. Louis police said an officer shot and injured Leslie Hopkins, 72, when Hopkins ran at police with a knife.
Vincent Lamont Simmons, 55, was shot in an alley after crashing a pickup at the end of a pursuit.
The sheriff said deputies tried to negotiate with 39-year-old Timothy L. Johnston, then fatally shot him when he fired a shot at them.
The 45-year-old man, armed with firearms, had barricaded himself inside a vehicle in the 3900 block of Summertime Drive, police said.
Police shot and injured the boy after they say heÌýled officers on a car chase and drove the car into an officer.Ìý
Kobie Davis, 25, was killed by a Leadington, Missouri, police officer hired to work security for The Wheelhouse at 1000 Spruce Street.
“They did what they had to do to resolve the incident.â€
St. Louis County police Chief Kenneth Gregory said at the scene
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Courts Reporter
Monica Obradovic
Education reporter
