Photo: St. Louis Police; GoFundMe
During the course of the night, Hendren emptied the gun before putting “one cartridge back into the cylinder,” the probable cause statement says.
The two allegedly took turns pointing the gun at each other and pulling the trigger, the probable cause statement says.
At one point, while Hendren was allegedly pointing the gun at Alix, it discharged, striking her in the chest, the probable cause statement says.
A military veteran and a patrol officer in her second year on the force, Alix waspronounced dead at a local hospital.
Hendren and his partner, Patrick Riordan, who was also at the apartment that night, were both on duty when the shooting took place, the probable cause statement says. Alix was not.
Hendren pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter and armed criminal action and is awaiting trial.
Nathaniel Hendren.St. Louis Police
He has been suspended from the police department.
On Wednesday, 9 months after the shooting, Alix’s mother Aimee Lynn Wahlers,filed a wrongful death lawsuitin St. Louis Circuit Courtagainst Hendren and others including Riordan, who wasn’t charged in the shooting. Gary Foster, the officers’ sergeant at the time, and the city of St. Louis are also named in the suit, outlets including the Associated Press, theMinneapolis Star-Tribuneand local station KMOV.com report.
The suit alleges thatHendren has forced other women to play the game,the AP and theSt. Louis Post-Dispatchreport.
The lawsuit also alleges Hendren forced past girlfriends to engage in sexual activity that involved firearms, the suit says.
It alleges that the city should have known that Hendren allegedly had a psychiatric history before hiring him, theSt. Louis Post-Dispatchreports.
He has allegedly suffered from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and “suicidal ideations and gestures,” the suit says.
It also alleges that Hendren once put a loaded gun to his mouth and head “just to feel something” when he was alone.
Unlike the probable cause statement, the suit does not state that Alix took part in the game and pointed the gun at Hendren, the AP and theSt. Louis Post-Dispatchreport.
It is unclear whether Hendren has hired an attorney to represent him in civil court. His lawyer in the criminal case, Talmage Newton IV, told theSt. Louis Post-Dispatchthat he wasn’t familiar with the allegations in the suit.
Newton did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The city of St. Louis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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After Hendren’s arrest, Newton released a statement saying, in part, “The death of Officer Kaitlyn Alix was a tragic accident that has unalterably impacted the lives of everyone involved.”
On the night of the shooting, Hendren’s partner, who was not named in the probable cause statement, expressed concern that Hendren and Alix were “playing with guns.”
Wanting no part of the situation, Hendren’s partner was about to leave the apartment when he heard a shot. He returned to the room where Hendren and Alix were playing the game and saw that Alix had been shot, the probable cause statement says.
source: people.com
