Baltimore shoplifting suspect arrested after being shot at by police as he fled

BALTIMORE -- A shoplifting suspect was arrested after he allegedly struck a Baltimore officer with a car while trying to flee Tuesday morning in Southwest Baltimore, which prompted an officer to open fire as he drove away, police said.

One officer, whose hand was hit by the car as the suspect fled, suffered a minor injury, police said. A second officer began experiencing chest pains and was hospitalized. That person's condition is unknown. 

Alex Husson, a 33-year-old man from Ellicott City, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder with additional charges possible, according to police.

Husson was arrested in the 9700 block of Robert Jay Way in Ellicott City.

The officers were investigating a robbery at a shopping center around 11 a.m. on the 3400 block of Wilkens Avenue when "their attention was drawn to the 7-Eleven where an individual was shoplifting," Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley said during a press conference following the incident.

The suspect, who got into a black SUV, allegedly tried to drive off as two officers were trying to stop them. That's when they struck one officer in the hand, Worley said. An officer then opened fire at the fleeing car, Worley said. 

Police said Husson was not shot or injured in the shooting.

It is unclear how many shots were fired. 

City police told WJZ that they have 10 reports of shoplifting from the 7-Eleven on Wilkens Avenue in 2023.

Worley said police were investigating a string of commercial burglaries at Wilkens Plaza in recent weeks. He said the pattern of burglaries involved people throwing bricks through storefronts and stealing cash registers.