Suspect arrested in fatal shooting of retired St. Louis police captain David Dorn

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Stephan Cannon
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department

A 24-year-old St. Louis man has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a retired police captain during a night of looting in the city last week, local prosecutors said Sunday.

Stephan Cannon was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 77-year-old David Dorn, who was gunned down early Tuesday in front of a pawn shop he was trying to protect from looters, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said.

Dorn’s last moments were apparently posted on Facebook Live, though the video has since been taken down.

He was a friend of the pawnshop’s owner and would check on the property, including when its burglar alarm went off.

Court documents state that Cannon was one of multiple people seen on surveillance footage entering the store and stealing TVs, local outlet Fox2Now reported.

He then allegedly walked toward the street corner with a gun in his hand.

“At the time the shots were fired, (Cannon) was the only person standing at that corner,” a probable cause statement reads.

“Multiple plumes of smoke” could be seen coming from where Cannon was standing, and shell casings were found on the spot, police said.

Police said Cannon cut his hair to change his look after seeing a surveillance image that cops had released in the hopes of identifying him.

Cannon was being held without bail. He also faces several other charges including robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Dorn, a former cop who had spent half his life on the Missouri force, was killed on a violent night for St. Louis where four officers were shot and more than 55 businesses were burglarized or damaged.

The unrest came amid nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

With Post wires