Conflicting Accounts After 18-Year-Old Shot in Face Near Ferguson

A witness is disputing a report that a man who suffered a gunshot wound to the face shot himself, saying police did it.

Image via @Fox 2 Now

An 18-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the face today in the St. Louis suburb of Normandy, Missouri after he shot at police, then turned his gun on himself, according to police reports cited by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  

One witness, however, told the Huffington Post that she's sure she saw police officers shoot the man, and that it was not a suicide attempt "at all."

The wounded man, whose identity has not been released, was alive but in critical condition after the shooting, which took place not far from Ferguson, reports say. 

According to police, officers responded to a call of a "suicidal" man whose family was trying to calm him down. The man then took a gun from his waistband and fired at officers before running off, police said. 

A different witness, Deron Smith, told the Post-Dispatch that he saw officers chasing the man, who at that time didn't appear to have a gun because he was using both hands to climb a fence. It was after the man was out of sight that Smith heard more gunshots though. 

In the report released by Normandy Police, officials say that officers recovered the gun that was fired at them by the man. That report says that the shot that wounded the man was only heard by officers, but not seen by them, according to the Huffington Post. The witness who spoke to them said this: 

Looking out her window, the witness said she saw the man -- who was wearing a red, orange and yellow jacket -- turn to face the officers, who were just six or seven feet away from him, when one of the cops shot him in the face.

The investigation is ongoing. 

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