Suburban St. Louis police officer kills man in traffic stop

WELLSTON, Mo. (AP) -- A suburban St. Louis police officer has fatally wounded a 34-year-old man during a traffic stop.

Shawn McGuire of the St. Louis County Police Department said in a news release that Thomas Allen Jr. died Sunday. The shooting happened around 10:15 a.m. Saturday after an officer for the Wellston Police Department pulled over a vehicle for a traffic violation.

McGuire said that as the officer was questioning the driver, Allen climbed into the driver[[OpenSingle]]s seat and attempted to speed away. The officer tried to stop Allen by getting into the passenger side of the vehicle and a struggle ensued.

McGuire says the officer was [[""]]in fear for his life[[""]] and fired three shots. The release didn[[OpenSingle]]t say whether Allen was armed. McGuire says the shooting is under investigation.