Officer Shoots Armed Man In Downtown Baltimore On 'The Block'
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore City Police said an officer shot an armed man overnight in downtown, just a block away from City Hall.
It happened just before 2 a.m. Thursday morning in the 400 block of E. Baltimore Street. Known as "The Block," the area is packed with clubs and bars.
Police said officers were helping businesses in that block close when they saw what appeared to be an escalating altercation between a group at the intersection of E. Baltimore and Holliday Streets.
As an officer approached, the suspect reportedly pulled a firearm and pointed it at the group of individuals and the officer.
According to Police Commissioner Michael Harrison, body cam video showed that the group dispersed, and the suspect began to run on E. Baltimore St when he saw the officer.
Harrison said the officer gave chase and the suspect turned to the officer, who fired multiple times at the suspect, hitting him.
The suspect was transported to shock trauma and taken into surgery. His injuries appear to be non-life threatening.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott was on the scene and said "I am grateful that no one was critically injured here tonight but I want to be very clear in no circumstances is it okay for a grown man to point a gun at a group of people, let alone a group of women."
"This is an absolute brazen act of violence to do it not only with a crowd of people as the mayor stated that could've been shot and or killed but right there in the presence of police officers," Harrison said. "This speaks to the willingness to use guns and lack of fear for consequences for their actions."
Cheryl Leister, manager of The Lovecraft Store on The Block, said the area can get rowdy around closing time.
"It's chaotic but there's normally a lot of police officers, I mean, a lot," said Leister. "I don't know what would've caused him to do what he did, who knows. People just have a blatant disrespect and blatant disregard for human life, not even their own.
This is the second police-involved shooting in Baltimore this week. Early Monday morning, an armed man having a mental health crisis was killed by police after an hours-long standoff.
Baltimore Police responding to an officer involved shooting on E Baltimore St. very close to City Hall & Police Headquarters. All surrounding streets currently closed. Police have yet to release any more information about the incident. @wjz pic.twitter.com/Onk4O106DY
— Rachel Menitoff (@RachelMenitoff) August 12, 2021
This the second police-involved shooting in Baltimore this week.