Final update: On Wednesday, the St. Louis County Police charged Thomas Bruce, 53, from Imperial, with one count of first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy, three counts of first-degree kidnapping, and one count of first-degree burglary, among others.
Police believe Bruce went to the Catholic Supply store on Monday and pretended to be a customer. He left, and then came back with a handgun, police wrote in the probable cause statement. Bruce allegedly demanded three victims take off their clothes in the back of the store, and that two perform "deviant sexual acts." A third was shot, police said.
Bruce is being held without bond.
Update: On Wednesday, at 12:30 p.m., the St. Louis County Police announced they had a 53-year-old male in custody as a person of interest in Monday's Catholic Supply shooting. No charges have been filed.
Update: On Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., St. Louis County Police identified the shooting victim as Jamie Schmidt. Schmidt was a customer at the store. She was 53 and lived in House Springs.
Update: On Tuesday at 11:10 a.m., St. Louis County Police released an updated description of the still-at-large suspect allegedly responsible for the sexual assault and shooting death at a Catholic Supply store on Manchester on Monday. The updated description included details about clothing the man might have worn, and widened his believed age to 40 to 50. Police wrote the man is thought to have been wearing "a navy blue Carhartt style work jacket, a plaid red, white, & black shirt, glasses, brown belt w/ a red & blue square on the buckle, & paperboy style hat."
Original story:
The day after a man sexually assaulted at least one person and fatally shot another inside the Catholic Supply store on Manchester, St. Louis County police are still searching for the suspect, who they say is armed and dangerous. On Tuesday, police released a new detail about what the suspect might have been wearing at the time of the crime.
Police say that on Monday at 3:19 p.m., they responded to a shooting call at 14069 Manchester Road, the address of the Catholic Supply store. They found one woman with an apparent gunshot wound. She was taken to the hospital but later died. The victim's identity has not been released. Another person was sexually assaulted inside the store, police say.
Police have described the suspect as a white man between the ages of 45 and 50; about 5 foot, 7 inches tall; and with a heavy build. Police say he was wearing a black jacket and jeans. A new detail released by the police on Tuesday: The man might have been wearing a newsboy cap. The St. Louis County Police Department tweeted an example of the style of hat:
Anyone with a tip is encouraged to call the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS.
