The area is near the light rail line that takes travelers to the terminal and is not behind a security checkpoint, according to maps of the airport posted on the website.
The rail line to Terminal 1 was closed for about three hours as shuttles took people from other drop-off points, but reopened later Friday morning. The airport remained open, airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge said in a statement.
Clay said officers noticed the man, who was not identified, in an area he should not have been and refused to leave.
Clay said the man showed officers a knife when they tried to get him to move. Officers used Tasers, but the man continued to advance toward the officers and one of them fired his gun, fatally wounding the man, Clay said.
“We don’t believe this was someone trying to catch a plane or get into town,” Clay said.
She said part of the investigation will focus on determining why the person was there and had to be removed.
The two officers were part of the airport police force and had six months and a year of service on the force, respectively, as well as previous law enforcement experience, the St. Louis County Police Department said in an emailed statement.
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