Off-Duty St. Louis Officer Accidentally Shot, Killed by On-Duty Cop

Off-Duty St. Louis Officer, 24, Shot and Killed by On-Duty Cop Who 'Mishandled' Gun

Katlyn Alix is survived by her husband — a fellow St. Louis police officer whom she wed in October — as well as her parents and a sister

Karen Mizoguchi

Published on January 24, 2019 07:30PM EST

officer-katlyn-alix — Photo: St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department

An off-duty St. Louis police officer was shot and killed early Thursday when a colleague “mishandled” a gun, PEOPLE confirms.

Two on-duty male officers were at one of their apartments when Katlyn Alix, who was off duty, stopped by, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

The three officers were seated in the apartment living room when one of the male officers “mishandled a firearm and shot [Alix] in the chest,” according to a statement from SLMPD. Alix’s arrival at the home was not preceded by a call for service or help.

An “officer in need of aid” call went out at 12:56 a.m., according to logs of St. Louis calls.

Alix, who was a military veteran and a patrol officer in her second year on the force, was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

“Officer Alix was an enthusiastic and energetic young woman with a bright future ahead of her,” St. Louis Metropolitan Police John Hayden said in a statement.

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“On behalf of the Metropolitan Police Department, I extend my deepest sympathies to the Alix family during this extremely difficult time. I ask the St. Louis community to keep the Alix family and the entire Metropolitan Police Department in your thoughts and prayers as we mourn this tragic loss,” Hayden added.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that the officer transported to the hospital has succumbed to her injuries,” the SLMPD said in a statement.

Alix graduated from the St. Louis Police Academy in January 2017. She is survived by her husband — a fellow St. Louis police officer whom she wed in October — as well as her parents and a sister.

Authorities have yet to release the names of the male officers, both 29, and have not specified whether the gun involved was a service weapon.

One of the male officers had a year on the force while the other officer had nearly two years of service.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office tweeted that they have opened an investigation into the shooting.