Attorney general’s office investigating Friday shooting where Baltimore officer injured, man fatally shot
A Baltimore Police officer was shot in the chest and a man died of gunshot wounds after a shoot-out with officers in South Baltimore Friday night. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General said Saturday it is investigating the shooting.
Around 10 p.m. police were investigating a report of a shooting from a few days prior, which didn’t result in any injuries, in the 3400 block of South Hanover St., said Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley at a Friday night news conference.
Officers approached a man sitting on the porch of a commercial building in the area of South Hanover Street and Baltic Avenue and began questioning him, according to an attorney general’s office release. As officers were speaking to the man, he began to withdraw his weapon, Worley said.
A preliminary review of body-worn camera footage by the attorney general’s office showed that after the man removed a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at officers, police gave commands for the man to drop the gun. He did not comply.
The man and multiple officers exchanged gunfire, which struck the man, according to the release. One officer also was struck by gunfire in his bulletproof vest.
Officers rendered medical aid to the man, but he was declared dead at an area hospital, according to the release. A handgun was recovered near the man at the scene.
“We’re grateful for the officers for doing the follow-up to an incident where multiple people could have been shot and who knows if this individual would have went on to shoot other people,” said Mayor Brandon Scott at the news conference.
Worley didn’t say who shot first in the incident.
“Nobody’s out here looking to shoot or kill anybody but we won’t have people pulling out guns pointing and firing them at anyone, let alone police officers,” Scott said Friday night.
The injured officer had non-life-threatening injuries and was listed in stable condition Friday night. Worley added that the officer’s bulletproof vest saved his life.
The names of the man who was fatally shot and the officers at the scene were not released. All officers involved will be placed on administrative leave for at least 10 days, Worley said. The officers also will speak with the health and wellness department.
The shooting is under review by city police and the Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, which investigates deaths involving police or incidents where a civilian’s injuries are likely to result in death.
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