Squabble over barbecue pit fire led to neighbor's stabbing, fatal encounter with St. Louis police | Law and order

ST. LOUIS • New details are emerging from police about the neighbor dispute that brought police Tuesday to the home of Kenny “Kiwi” Herring, who was then killed in a confrontation with officers.

In court documents filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, police say Herring had accused a downstairs neighbor that morning of starting a fire on a back deck. Herring then stabbed that neighbor after Herring’s partner provided the kitchen knife, police say.

Herring was fatally shot by police after Herring, in a scuffle with officers, cut an officer on the arm. Herring’s partner, Kristy Lynn Thompson, is jailed on assault charges for handing the knife to Herring. And the neighbor who was stabbed was hospitalized with stab wounds. The victim suffered a collapsed lung in the attack, police say.

The two officers who fired the shots are on administrative leave, as is protocol, while the case is being reviewed.

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Kenny "Kiwi" Herring, in a photo posted on social media by friends and members of Herring's family.

Here is an account of that morning, based on court records and an affidavit from St. Louis Police Detective Jamie Simpher:

The victim, 30, was living with his girlfriend in a downstairs apartment of a two-family flat at 5246 Ridge Avenue. Herring, a transgender woman, lived upstairs with Thompson and their three young sons.

About 2 a.m. Tuesday, a fire broke out on the upper balcony of the flat. The St. Louis Fire Department determined that charcoal from a barbecue pit on a second floor balcony fell out of the pit, caught fire and caused minor damage to both the second- and first-floor porches.

Police weren’t notified. “There was no indication of any type of disturbance,” Fire Capt. Garon Mosby said.

However, Herring apparently was suspicious. Herring told a next-door neighbor, Brooke Jones, that an arsonist might be at work, and Herring had suspicions about who it might be. Jones told the Post-Dispatch that Herring planned to confront the person early Tuesday.

Simpher, the detective, said Herring and Thompson later came to the neighbor’s first-floor apartment and accused him of starting the fire. The neighbor denied doing it, Simpher said.

The victim told police that the argument turned physical, and during the struggle, Thompson handed what looked like a butcher knife to Herring and Herring started stabbing the neighbor.

The neighbor was stabbed several times, and he was able to push Herring and Thompson out of his apartment and lock the door. He had been on the telephone with his girlfriend during at least part of the attack, police say. His girlfriend called 911.

He suffered cuts to his face, hands and body. His left lung was also punctured.

Officers who arrived at the residence on Ridge found the stabbing victim, bleeding from stab wounds; he told police the name of the person who stabbed him, police say.

Herring was still at the apartment building when officers arrived. When officers tried to arrest Herring, Herring used the knife to cut an officer’s arm, police say. That’s when the injured officer and another officer fired their weapons at Herring.

Police have not released the names of the officers involved. The shooting happened inside the flat and no other witnesses have come forward. The victim of the initial stabbing could not be reached Thursday for comment.

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People hold a candlelight vigil for Kenneth "Kiwi" Herring, a transgender woman, at Hunt Avenue and S. Vanderventer Avenue on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. Herring was shot and killed by police on Tuesday. Police say Herring stabbed an officer in the arm before she was shot and killed. Officers responded to Herring's house because there was a report of a stabbing in the area, police have accused Herring of being the suspect who stabbed a man at the scene. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.comDavid Carson

Herring, 30, died at the scene. In the wake of Herring’s death, some members of the LGBT community have held candlelight vigils for Herring and protests questioning the police response. During a march Wednesday night, a driver tried to push through a group of protesters, injuring three. Accounts of how that happened differ.

+10  Kristy Thompson" class="img-responsive lazyload full" width="864" height="1080" />

Kristy Thompson, charged in connection with a stabbing that triggered a fatal confrontation between officers and Kenneth "Kiwi" Herring, according to police.

Thompson, 28, was charged Tuesday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. A judge set bail at $80,000 cash only. Thompson remained jailed on Thursday. No attorney for Thompson is listed in court records. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 25.

Police identified Herring as a man, but friends and family members say she was a transgender woman. Similarly, police identified Thompson as a woman, but a relative, Crevonda Nance, said Thompson is a transgender man who was married to Herring. Nance said Thompson is the biological mother of the sons she and Herring were raising.

Until the detective’s sworn statement filed in court records, police had only said that Thompson had “some involvement in the assault” but didn’t elaborate on Thompson’s role.