Remains at ambush identified

MAPLEWOOD, Mo. -- The St. Louis County medical examiner on Wednesday identified remains at the scene of an ambush at a suburban St. Louis home as those of the homeowner, 52-year-old Mark Knobbe.

Dr. Mary Case, who performed the autopsy, said Knobbe committed suicide by shooting himself. She said the identification was made through dental records.

Maplewood firefighter Ryan Hummert died Monday when he was shot while responding to a truck fire, suspected as being a ruse to draw emergency workers to the suburban St. Louis neighborhood. Two police officers were also shot.

St. Louis County Police spokeswoman Tracy Panus said police have no motive for the shootings. She said Knobbe later set fire to his house and died in the residence.

Neighbors described Knobbe as a recluse and mystery who never spoke to anyone and always had his shades pulled. His family released a statement Tuesday saying they had lost contact with him nearly a decade ago, but that he was a Navy veteran who was not married and had no children.

Some friends said he was a regular guy who inexplicably drifted from them a few months ago.

City hall records show Knobbe had been cited by the city for tall grass and other property problems, as recently as the week before the shootings.

Public records show Knobbe bought the modest brick bungalow more than 10 years ago for $65,500.

Hummert, a 22-year-old rookie firefighter, had been with the Maplewood fire department less than a year.

Visitation for Hummert will be Thursday. A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Immaculate Conception Church in Maplewood.