ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A Hazelwood man faces various charges for a shooting in Ferguson, threatening to kill a car rental employee, and leading police in a pursuit while driving a stolen car from Missouri to Illinois.

According to the Berkeley Police Department’s probable cause statement, Cameroon T.E. Clay, 23, went to the Enterprise Rent-A-Car branch on Natural Bridge Road on Feb. 4, 2024, and asked to rent a vehicle. After being denied, police said Clay got angry and threatened to come back to the business with a gun.

On March 20, 2024, Clay called the same Enterprise branch to express his displeasure over not being able to rent a car. At the end of the call, police said Clay threatened to kill the employee who wouldn’t rent a vehicle to him in the first place.

According to the Ferguson Police Department’s probable cause statement, the Church’s Chicken shooting occurred on Feb. 21, 2025, in the 10600 block of New Halls Ferry Road.

Police said Clay entered the fast-food restaurant and demanded a free cup of water. Clay was told he’d have to pay for the cup of water. Clay got mad and began knocking over cups and other items in the business.

Employees asked Clay to leave and then forced him out the door after he displayed a gun, police said. Clay got in a car and began shooting at the Church’s Chicken, striking an employee inside the business.

On Feb. 24, officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department received an alert from the Real Time Crime Center of a stolen vehicle sighting in Benton Park West. The vehicle, a 2011 Acura MDX, had been reported stolen earlier in the day out of St. Louis County. City police followed the vehicle across the Eads Bridge and into Illinois.

Police said the vehicle’s tires were flattened with spike strips. The vehicle slid across the street and was unable to move. Police said Clay, who was in the passenger seat, switched places with the driver, an unnamed juvenile, and managed to get the stolen Acura moving again. That attempt was short-lived, as the Acura crashed into a utility pole and burst into flames. Both Clay and the juvenile were then taken into custody.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Clay with first-degree harassment, first-degree assault, two counts of unlawful use of weapon, and three counts of armed criminal action. Clay remains jailed on a $150,000 cash-only bond. He’s due in court for a preliminary hearing on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 26.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Clay with first-degree vehicle tampering, possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful use of a weapon. He’s due in court for a scheduled hearing on the morning of March 26.