Baltimore police shoot, kill man after he allegedly pointed gun at them

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore police shot and killed a man Tuesday afternoon in Southwest Baltimore after he allegedly pointed a gun in their direction during a foot chase, police said. 

The man, identified as 27-year-old Hunter Jessup, who was believed to have been armed, was standing on Brunswick Street around 12:30 p.m. when officers attempted to stop him. He then allegedly took off on Wilkens Avenue.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said an officer attempted to tackle the man and fell into a set of stairs. At that point, police said Jessup pointed a gun at the officer.

That's when multiple officers fired their weapons.

The officers involved in the incident were identified as William Healy, Brittany Routh, Justin Olivia, and Bandon Columbo.  

All the officers are assigned to BPD's patrol division.  

"We have not confirmed if the individual had fired shots," Worley said. "We do know he pointed the weapon. We can't tell from the body-worn camera whether shots were fires."

Jessup was taken to Shock Trauma where he died.

"At one point, the suspect turned and pointed a gun at the officer and multiple officers opened fire," Worley said.

Worley said that initially, police had thought that an officer had been shot. However, they learned that was not the case. The officer was treated and released with minor injuries.

"At one point, we believed we had an officer shot but was not," Worley said. "He has been released from the hospital and is now talking with detectives."

Police located at the scene a handgun with an extended magazine.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Southwest Baltimore residents filmed officers as they swarmed around the gunshot victim and shouted prayers in hopes that he might survive his injuries.

"Just keep breathing," one woman shouted at the gunshot victim as police surrounded him. "In the name of Jesus, keep breathing."

WJZ spoke to a man who said he was related to Jessup.

"This is my brother—my blood brother. I was standing with the blood brother," Jelevon Nolley said. "My brother ran. He was scared."

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott was also at the site of the shooting.

"Incidents like this really pull the heart out of a community," Scott said. "I want to thank our officers for what they do and what they did today. We know this points to a bigger and broader issue about the flow of guns into our city. We cannot just have individuals walking around with weapons that can lead to instances like this today." 

WJZ asked Worley why the police initially stopped the man. Worley said officers regularly patrol the area.

"This is a – I don't want to say a high crime area, but we've had several shootings in this area, and they were doing proactive patrol which our members are out doing every single day," Worley said.