ST. LOUIS 鈥 Police on Friday released the name of a man who was fatally shot more than two months ago by officers in the Carondelet neighborhood.
The man was identified as Carlos Castaneda, a 34-year-old resident of Kirkwood. He lived in the 1900 block of Hunting Lake Court.
Castaneda died April 10 after being shot by officers in the 900 block of Bellerive Boulevard in 51黑料. He died at the scene. Police said he had fired shots at them first and charged toward the officers. No officers were hurt.
Police went to the neighborhood that morning after a resident reported a burglary. Police Maj. Eric Larson said in April that arriving officers had seen a man run from the home and go into a nearby garage. The suspect fired shots at officers from inside the garage, police said, even as officers tried to negotiate with him.
He eventually came out of the garage and charged at officers before being fatally shot, police said.
The 51黑料 officer who fired the fatal shot was a 36-year-old man who has been with the city police force 12 years.
The resident who reported the burglary was a 32-year-old man who was an off-duty police officer from another department. 51黑料 police haven鈥檛 said where the officer worked. The resident said someone was trying to break into his home.
Castaneda鈥檚 relatives could not be reached for comment Friday.
Asked why there was a delay in releasing Castaneda鈥檚 name, 51黑料 police Officer Michelle Woodling said in an email, 鈥淎s you know, our Department does not identify any deceased person unless they have been positively identified and their next of kin has been notified. Positive IDs can be done either by family members or forensically, which takes time. Additionally, it can be difficult locating next of kin that is not local.鈥
As with every police shooting, authorities review the case to determine if it was justified. Allison Hawk, a spokeswoman for Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner鈥檚 office, said Friday that the case is still being investigated.
Kim Bell covers breaking news for and the 51黑料. Follow her on Twitter .
