Loved ones of teenager shot, killed by Baltimore police demand answers
BALTIMORE -- Friends of the teenager who police shot and killed Monday night in Southwest Baltimore told WJZ he was an expectant father, and they demand answers from police.
The deadly incident unfolded just before 9:15 p.m. when officers opened fire on a person at Stricker and West Baltimore streets. Police said he was armed.
"His kid about to be born, and his close ones, that's all that he cared about," a friend said.
Those who know the minor are demanding answers from police and believe the shooting was unjust.
"What made them think that my brother had a gun. They thought he had a gun so they shot him," one loved one told Hellgren.
Loved ones react
Friends told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren the teenager who was killed was a 17-year-old who worked at a grocery store near where officers shot him.
"You can see the blood. A mother lost her child," one friend pointed at the spot where the shooting happened.
WJZ blurred the video of the interviews because they did not want their faces shown. They also declined to give their names.
"They say he met the description of somebody. We all had on all black. They don't know why it was. They just went to go chase him," said a friend who claimed he was with the teen as police approached them.
"I loved him," another friend said. "I loved him to death, and for them to do that to him, that hurt. I don't want to cry because that shows my weakness but that just hurt. Police did that for no reason."
Police describe how deadly shooting unfolded
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said officers first confronted the person because they believed he was armed.
"They went to engage him," Worley said. "The victim, suspect, took off running. Officers gave chase. When they caught up to him, there was a brief struggle, at which point, you see a weapon in the suspect's hand. Other officers get out of their car. They engage the suspect. They open fire, shooting an individual."
The commissioner said police recovered a weapon at the scene.
He confirmed three officers opened fire.
"The officers could have seen the gun or they could have seen the outline of the gun under his clothes," Worley said. "There's any number of things that they could have seen that would have alerted them that the individual was armed."
Worley told reporters the teen showed characteristics of an armed person.
"It was what we called characteristics of an armed person, and because the individuals who fired their weapons are the ones who saw that, they haven't given a statement yet, so that will be recovered as part of the investigation," Worley said.
On Thursday The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General released the names of the three officers involved. Detective Thomas Smith, a four-year veteran; Detective Shariff Kellogg, a six-year veteran; and Detective Devon Lomax, another four-year veteran; all part of the Group Violence Unit were identified in the fatal shooting.
Initial body camera review
The Maryland Attorney General's Office completed a preliminary review of the police body-worn camera video.
Here is how they describe the incident:
"An initial review of body-worn camera footage shows on August 5, 2024, at approximately 9:14 p.m., officers with the Baltimore Police Department observed a male walking in the unit block of North Gilmore Street and attempted to stop him. The male began running away from the officers. In the unit block of North Stricker Street, as officers were running after him, the male displayed a gun at which time multiple officers discharged their firearms striking him. Officers rendered emergency medical aid and requested EMS.
The male was pronounced dead on the scene. A loaded handgun was recovered near the male. No officers were injured."
Dispatch calls
Hellgren reviewed dispatch calls as police responded to the shooting.
"Shots fired by police," one officer said over the radio. "We've got one suspect down. All units are good. We're in the unit block of North Stricker. We need a crime scene set up. We do have a crowd."
Police said they put tourniquets on the subject to stop the bleeding.
"All units are good. All, all the Blue is good. We're rendering aid right now," the officer said.
Attorney General's Review
The Attorney General's Office has opened an investigation, which is standard protocol after police shoot someone.
They have declined to name the minor because of his age.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement would provide support in the area.
"Gunplay is not the way that anyone has to go in the city of Baltimore, and we will continue to be here in this community, and we'll see the investigation all the way through. We are so grateful there wasn't any further injury to these officers or anybody in the community," Mayor Scott said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, police had not yet said how many times he was shot and where on his body.
