No One Injured After Officer Fires At Teen Suspected Of Driving Stolen Vehicle
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—A Baltimore City police officer opens fire on a teen suspected of driving a stolen vehicle on a busy road in the middle of rush hour.
Monique Griego has more on the dangerous move police say the suspect made before the shooting.
Police say a 15-year-old suspect is now in custody. He is charged with first- and second-degree assault along with associated motor vehicle theft and traffic violations.
Police say the officers were trying to the pull vehicle over. But when they got out of their police unit, the suspect rammed their vehicle, narrowly missing the officers.
A police shooting isn't something you'd expect to unfold in traffic at a busy North Baltimore intersection.
"I just saw the police gathered. A lot of police cars were there," said Naresh Thapa, who works nearby.
It all started just after 9 a.m. Thursday at Northern Parkway and Falls Road.
Baltimore Police say two officers were following a tan colored minivan when they learned it was suspected of being stolen.
"When the vehicle stopped in traffic they activated their lights in an effort to stop that vehicle," said Eric Kowalczyk, Baltimore Police Department.
But when both officers got out of their units and tried to approach the driver--who we now know is 15 years old--the teen put the van in reverse and rammed a police car.
In the chaos, police say one of the officers believed his partner had been crushed. That officer then fired at least one round.
"The discharging officer believed that his partner had been pinned between the two vehicles and took that use of force as a last resort," Kowalczyk said.
Drivers were shocked to see something like this happen in such a busy intersection.
"Well, it is a busy area to be shooting because those bullets can ricochet anywhere," said Mary Ellen Montague, of North Baltimore.
Police say nobody was struck by the bullet. And while neither officer was injured by the suspect's vehicle, you can see the damage the crash caused.
Police were able to arrest the driver and are now looking into exactly what led up to the shooting.
"Our force investigation team is going to look at all the pieces, figure out where everybody was standing and exactly how this unfolded," Kowalczyk said.
Because the suspect is a minor, police are not releasing his identity.
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