Mom of teen wounded by St. Louis police questions shooting

ST. LOUIS -- The mother of an armed 16-year-old boy who was shot and paralyzed by St. Louis police is questioning whether officers needed to fire upon her son.

Antoinette Liggins, 42, said Brandon Claxton "shouldn't have had the gun" when confronted by police Saturday, but officers "didn't have to shoot him down like that."

A woman reported Saturday she saw someone she believed had stolen her .40-caliber pistol, and officers responding confronted two young people, police chief Sam Dotson said. The two ran away but encountered more officers, Dotson said.

Liggins said those two were Claxton and another of her sons, age 15.

Dotson said one of the officers saw a gun in Claxton's hand and fired because he "believed the gun was pointed at him" and "feared for his safety." Claxton was shot in the stomach and an arm, and a bullet grazed his head, Dotson said. The stolen pistol was found at the scene, Dotson said.

Liggins said Claxton is paralyzed below the waist. He was listed Sunday as being in serious but stable condition. His medical status was not clear Monday.

The 29-year-old officer who wounded Claxton has been put on administrative leave as the department investigates.

The shooting prompted a small protest Sunday outside St. Louis police headquarters. Nine people were arrested during the demonstration, at which a U.S. flag was thrown into traffic.

Seven of the arrests were for impeding traffic flow, and two were for failing to disperse. Four of the nine protesters were pepper-sprayed by officers and charged with resisting arrest.

Liggins had a daughter who was 14 when she died in 2008 after being accidentally shot by a teenage boy playing with a gun.