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St. Louis police officer killed in accidental shooting, authorities say

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis police officer was killed early Thursday in an accidental shooting, authorities said.

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The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department identified the officer on Tuesday afternoon as Katlyn Alix, a 24-year-old who joined the department two years ago.

"Officer Alix was an enthusiastic and energetic young woman with a bright future ahead of her," St. Louis Metropolitan police Chief John Hayden said Thursday in a statement.

Alix was off-duty when she stopped by an on-duty officer's Carondelet home about 1 a.m. CST, according to KMOV-TV . Two male officers were there, the news station reported.

Hayden told KTVI one of the officers was sitting in the home's living room when he "mishandled a gun and shot Alix in the chest."

Police did not immediately identify the officers.

Alix was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, KSDK reported. She is survived by her husband, her mother, her father and her sister, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The circumstances surrounding the early morning shooting remained unclear Thursday.

"All that will be part of the investigation," Hayden said Thursday at a news conference, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Authorities continue to investigate.