St. Louis County Police Identify Cop Shot Dead Thursday

The four-year veteran of the St. Louis County Police Department who was shot dead Thursday morning responding to a call in Green Park has been identified as Blake Snyder.

Snyder, 33, was shot "almost immediately" after getting out of his car, a department spokesperson said .A second officer returned fire, hitting the suspect, who was not killed.

Snyder is the 97th to be killed in the line of duty this year, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. He leaves behind a wife and son, and the department encouraged anyone looking to help to donate to BackStoppers, an organization that helps families of fallen officers.

Photos posted by the department on Facebook showed officers lowering their flag to half staff after the killing.

The shooting happened just down the block from the home of Jack Buck III, grandson of sportscaster Jack Buck. He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he heard, "an exchange of pop-pop, pop-pop-pop. Maybe eight to 12 shots."

Authorities will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Central Time to give more information.

This is a developing story and will be updated.