Fenton, MO – A former physician at Mercy Health was shot and killed by St. Louis County police officers on Friday morning after an attempted arrest escalated into a fatal confrontation.

The deceased, identified as 38-year-old Aleksandr Lanis, was the subject of an arrest warrant for first-degree harassment.

Officers arrived at approximately 10 a.m. at a residence in the 1000 block of Hawkins Bend Drive to serve the warrant when the situation turned violent.

According to police, officers made contact with Lanis at the door of the home, where a verbal exchange ensued.

The encounter quickly escalated into a physical struggle when Lanis allegedly brandished a firearm.

In response, both officers discharged their weapons, striking and fatally wounding him. A firearm was recovered at the scene.

One of the officers sustained a non-gunfire-related hand injury during the altercation but was treated at the scene and did not require hospitalization.

The officers involved in the shooting have been identified as a 30-year-old with seven years of service and a 22-year-old who has been with the department for one year.

Neighbors in the area expressed shock following the incident. “We heard about 15 shots,” one resident recalled. “I didn’t even know he had weapons. He mostly kept to himself.”

Authorities confirmed that Lanis shared the home with a woman who was in the process of divorcing him.

She and their young child were not present at the time of the shooting.

Mercy Health acknowledged that Lanis had previously been employed as a physician but declined to disclose the timeframe of his tenure with the organization.

The investigation into the officer-involved shooting is ongoing.