COURTESY ST. LOUIS POLICE
Devonte Morgan faces murder and assault charges.
A St. Louis man accused of unintentionally shooting a young mom in the neck while he fired on police officers has been charged with murder.
Devonte Morgan, 26, was previously charged with three counts of assault and three counts armed criminal action in the Sept. 1, 2017 shooting. A spokeswoman for the St. Louis Circuit Attorney says prosecutors were awaiting for additional evidence to upgrade the charges.
On the day of the shooting, police say, two veteran officers in the department's gang unit were working in the Columbus Square neighborhood when they spotted Morgan, one of their targets.
He saw them, too, and opened fire with an assault rifle when they got out of their vehicle, police say. The two officers were hit in the legs and hands but survived. Another bullet blasted into a nearby home, striking 25-year-old Tamara Collier in the neck.
The nursing assistant, a mother of two, had been doing laundry at her mom's place when she was shot. The bullet paralyzed her. She lived nearly a year, and told news outlets she hoped to walk again and take care of her kids. She lived her final months in a nursing home and died in August.
In a probable cause statement filed today, police allege Morgan fired at least ten times from multiple locations in the apartment complex.
He was arrested shortly after the shooting and remains in custody at the St. Louis City Justice Center.
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication with additional information from the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office.
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