ST. LOUIS • A teenager robbing someone at gunpoint was killed early Wednesday when a man interrupted the holdup, wrestled the robber's gun away and shot him several times, police say.

It happened just before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 2700 block of Fall Avenue, in the city's Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood. The area is northwest of the intersection of North Grand Boulevard and Cass Avenue.

The dead man is identified as Dwight A. Brown, 19, of the 2900 block of James "Cool Papa" Bell Avenue.

The man who shot Brown was 27 years old. Police did not release his name. Police found witnesses who corroborated the man's account of the shooting.

According to the St. Louis Police Department's account of the shooting, Brown was robbing another person when the 27-year-old man interrupted the holdup. In a struggle with Brown, the man was able to get control of Brown's gun. He turned the weapon on Brown and shot him several times. Brown died at a local hospital.

In January 2010, Brown pleaded guilty in St. Louis Circuit Court of second-degree burglary and tampering, both felonies, and misdemeanor resisting or interfering with arrest.

Court records indicate that Brown was put on probation for the felonies and sentenced to 37 days in jail for the misdemeanor. A docket summary of the plea shows that one of the judge's conditions for probation was that Brown continue taking his medication.

The robbery attempt and shooting apparently happened behind the Imperial Palace nightclub, 2543 North Grand Boulevard.

In June, a man was shot to death near the club, where a large crowd was leaving. Brandon Dixon, 37, pointed a gun at a woman, then ran off and apparently shot himself. He was found with a wound to the chest in the parking lot in the 2700 block of Fall Avenue. Police spokeswoman Katie O'Sullivan on Wednesday said that the death of Dixon had been ruled a suicide.

In January 2010, five people were injured by gunfire during a fight outside the club. Police said two men in their 20s started shooting and assaulting four others about 2 a.m Jan. 31. A club security guard returned gunfire, firing several shots into the ground.