A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot a 30-year-old man this morning (April 17) during a confrontation at a vacant building that previously housed a nursing home south of Festus, said Grant Bissell, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.
The man, whose last known address was in Crystal City, was suspected of trespassing at the former Benchmark Healthcare Festus nursing home building, 12827 Hwy. TT. He was shot in the shoulder area at about 7:30 a.m. during a physical altercation with the deputy, Bissell said.
The suspect was conscious when he was transported from the scene to an area hospital, where he was in critical, but stable condition, Bissell said at about 10:30 a.m.
The deputy, a 15-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, suffered minor injuries, mainly scratches on his legs, Bissell said.
The deputy has been placed on administrative leave while the Sheriff’s Office investigates the shooting, Bissell said.
He said counseling will be made available to the deputy.
The old nursing home was shut down in September 2016 after the state Department of Health and Human Services inspections found it “not in substantial compliance with Medicare regulations.”
A member of a construction crew working on Hwy. TT flagged down the deputy and reported seeing a man in the vacant building. The deputy was searching behind the building near a cellar when the suspect came out of the nursing home holding an object in his hand. The deputy ordered the man to drop the object, but the suspect allegedly didn’t comply and instead lunged at the officer, Bissell said.
The deputy reportedly had drawn his gun when the suspect came out of the building, and during the confrontation, it was fired at least once, hitting the man in the shoulder area, Bissell said.
He said it was not clear if the deputy intentionally fired his weapon during the struggle. He said crime-scene technicians were still investigating at the scene.
Deputies had already been at the old nursing home earlier that morning.
Bissell said the Sheriff’s Office has been called to the vacant building several times in the last few years for thefts and responded there at about 5 a.m. this morning after receiving a call about a suspected burglary. He said deputies did not find anything suspicious at that time.
Bissell said he doesn't know who currently owns the building, which appears abandoned with no work being done there.
The Sheriff’s Office used the nearby Plattin Primary School as a staging area where a medical transportation helicopter landed, principal Tina Basler said.
However, Bissell said he did not know if the helicopter was used to transport the suspect to the hospital.
Basler said the school, which is about 2 miles from the nursing home, did not need to be locked down during the incident and was able to open at its regular starting time at 7:50 a.m.
Benchmark Healthcare was closed after it was cited for errors in distributing medication to residents, lack of cleanliness, not keeping enough food in the facility, and nonpayment of bills, among other problems.