Officer Michael Langsdorf of the North County Police Cooperative (NCPC) died in a St. Louis hospital on Sunday.
According to an official NCPC Facebook post, Langsdorf was shot by a person attempting to cash a bad check at Clay’s Wellston Food Market Restaurant in Wellston. The suspect was taken into — and remains in — custody.
“PO Langsdorf was dispatched there for a person trying to cash a bad check. After arriving, PO Langsdorf was shot by the person attempting to cash the bad check,” according to the Facebook post. “The person who shot and killed PO Langsdorf is in custody. A firearm was recovered.”
Langsdorf was a 17-year police veteran, who left behind a fiance, two children, and “an enormous amount of friends and family.” The Maryland Heights Police Department (MHPD) tweeted a tribute to Langsdorf, saying his death was “a senseless tragedy that did not have to happen,” adding a darkened image that simply read “ENOUGH.”
Both the NCPC and the MHPD offered their “thoughts and prayers” to the bereaved. The investigation is ongoing.