The Baltimore Police Department on Monday released video footage of the fatal shooting of beloved arabber Bilal “BJ” Abdullah that appears to show him withdrawing a firearm and shooting at officers who were pursuing him, striking one in the foot.

In the video, the 36-year-old then appears to drop his weapon before picking it back up and raising it toward police officers. Those officers are then seen in the video firing a barrage of bullets, fatally injuring Abdullah.

Police Commissioner Richard Worley described the shooting as “tragic” but praised responding officers. He said police are confident Abdullah fired the first shot and that the responding officers’ guns were holstered when that shot went off.

The footage also showed the aftermath of the shooting in West Baltimore, as community members wailed in agony and got between Abdullah and police. Police said the crowd prevented them from immediately rendering aid to Abdullah.

Councilman John Bullock, whose district includes the site of the shooting, said he reviewed the video of the shooting and of an earlier incident involving Abdullah brandishing a weapon. Police officials referenced video of such an incident, but did not release it Monday.

He said he felt it helped to “fill in some of the gaps” in what he called an “unfortunate situation.”

“Clearly there were some challenging things happening there. Leading up to the incident, there appeared to be some interactions that led to the altercation,” he said. “It’s truly unfortunate, but I can see how the situation unfolded. I wish it had not unfolded in that way.”

Footage shows intense chase, exchange of gunfire

One June 17, officers responded to the 1700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue on a tip that Abdullah displayed a weapon and made threats to people.

Devin Yancy, Omar Rodriguez and Ashley Negron were patrolling the Upton area at the time, according to Deputy Commissioner Brian Nadeau. Yancy and Negron were assigned to the Group Violence Unit and Negron to the patrol division.

The tip, per Commissioner Worley, was not through a dispatch or 911 call, but officials say there is video evidence from a private business of Abdullah’s actions.

In plain clothes and a police vest, Rodriguez leapt from an unmarked police cruiser and followed Abdullah. After noticing him, Abdullah began running.

“We don’t know exactly if there was a conversation between the two at this point,” Nadeau said.

He said they have not interviewed the involved officers yet.

Once Rodriguez caught up to Abdullah and grabbed him, a weapon went off, police said.

Police believe it was Abdullah’s gun, which they say he was not permitted to carry. Rodriguez then retreated, and Abdullah fell to the ground with the weapon in his hand, they said.

When Abdullah picked the weapon up, Rodriquez, Yancy and Negron fired at him. In the exchange, Abdullah fired three shots, and police returned 38, Nadeau said.

Yancy was shot in the foot during the exchange, but he has since been released from the hospital and doing fine, officials said.

Investigators are awaiting the official autopsy report to confirm how many of the shots struck Abdullah.

There was about a three-to-four-minute gap before officers rendered aid to Abdullah, Worley said, which they attribute to the crowd forming around him.

Worley said officers created space and called for additional units to render aid, which is what they teach them to do.

“I think the officers did an exceptional job,” Worley said.

The video shows a small crowd of three people growing to about a dozen.

The graphic video contains footage from the body cameras of officers who fired their guns, which were Yancy, Rodriguez and Negron; along with cameras from CitiWatch and the Maryland Transit Authority.

Only government videos were shown, because of the attorney general’s office’s policy, Nadeau said.

Two of the involved officers were in plain clothes and a vest, while one was in a police uniform, officials said. Yancy, Rodriguez and Negron are all on routine administrative leave.

Bullock said Abdullah’s behavior in the videos seemed to contradict accounts of his reputation.

“It seemed he was acting out of character,” Bullock said. “I’m not sure what was happening with him personally on that day. Clearly there was a weapon, clearly there was an exchange and clearly it ended in a deadly fashion.”

Levar Mullen, who knew Abdullah since he was a child, still has questions after watching the body camera footage.

He wants to know what was said and done during the initial interaction between Abdullah and officers. Mullen said that he believed that the first contact was not captured in the footage shared on Monday.

“You can see from the footage that it just didn’t start right there,” he said.

Mullen, who said he has been shot before, said that when someone is the victim of a shooting “your instincts are gonna kick in, you’re trying to live.”

“It’s no justification, but that was a natural reaction to what took place,” Mullen added.

‘Difficult and emotional questions’

Jamal Turner, chairman of the city’s independent Police Accountability Board, said in a statement that he and other board members who viewed the footage were now faced with “difficult and emotional questions.”

“While it reflects the danger present in the moment, it also underscores the need to examine not only the incident but also the tactical responses and volume of force used,” Turner said. “That level of force is distressing, and we believe it warrants further review.”

Bullock also questioned whether the number of shots fired was necessary.

“It did seem like a lot,” he said. “But looking at the video there was still the retention of the gun and there did seem to be some attempt to fire.”

Bullock said he wasn’t sure how the community would react to the video’s release.

“I get the sense some people may have some of their questions answered by it,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll come away feeling better, but there may be a greater understanding as to what transpired that day.”

It was largely business as usual in the neighborhood Monday afternoon after the footage was released by police. People outside near the Upton-Avenue Market Station gathered under corner store awnings, bus stops, and nearby trees attempting to escape the heat — with the temperature still in the 90s.

Mayor Brandon Scott, who addressed the video’s release shortly before cutting the ribbon at a refurbished swimming pool in West Baltimore, said he sympathized with the “pain and trauma” experienced in the wake of Abdullah’s death. However, Scott said he did not believe officers should have acted any differently.

“Situations like these are devastating, regardless of the specifics of the case,” he said. “I know that we laid that out very clearly today with the release of the footage. The description police gave that first day is exactly how this incident happened. There is no ambiguity to that.”

Scott said he spoke with Yancy over the weekend and expressed gratitude to him and his colleagues. He said he has also spoken with Abdullah’s family and extended his condolences.

“We should not allow anybody to be reduced to the worst moments of their life or circumstances around their death,” he said. “But I’m going to be very clear, we cannot and will not allow individuals to carry and use illegal guns against police officers or anybody else in Baltimore without there being repercussions.”

Scott said he hopes the community recognizes the “totality” of the incident before forming judgment.

“It’s another example about why we need all these other things to continue to get there,” he said of city supports beyond the justice system. “Why we need to have better help for mental health and services that we need, and why we need to live in a place where men, and particularly Black men, can feel safe in saying that they need help and not feel ashamed.”

The shooting last week sparked outcry in the community. Hundreds of people gathered Friday evening near the corner of West North and Pennsylvania avenues and marched to the Upton Metro station, where Abdullah was shot. Some demonstrators said Abdullah’s death reminded them of the case of Freddie Gray.

Turner, too, alluded to Gray in his statement, saying that the wounds left by his death have not healed, “and this incident only deepens the pain for many across our city.”

Still, Turner credited the Police Department for its timely release of the footage.

“While not a solution in itself, this level of transparency is a step in the right direction toward building community trust,” he said.

City officials went to the Upton neighborhood Friday for a meeting with community leaders and bystanders as they worked to listen and ease tensions. Advocates said communities are feeling frustrated and disappointed with the continuing tension between police and neighborhoods.

“My brother did not deserve this,” Najla Abdullah, the arabber’s sister, said during the march on Friday. “Baltimore City Police — we look to them to support and protect us, and they took my brother away.”

By Monday afternoon, shortly after the footage was released, the heavy police presence that had been there last week appeared to be gone.

Officers acted appropriately, according to others

While many said the video footage left unanswered questions, others said they believed officers acted appropriately in a dangerous situation.

“We, unfortunately, have a brother who just made a wrong choice,” said Del. Sean Stinnett, a Democrat from Baltimore, who is a Muslim like Abdullah.

Stinnett said he contacted several leaders in Baltimore’s Muslim community Monday to share his perspective on the footage.

“My hope is that the community looks at this video with open eyes, with clear eyes to have a full understanding on what transpired,” Stinnett said.

Neill Franklin, who serves as an expert witness in areas including police training, policy and use of force, said after reviewing the footage that he has “no problem with what the police did in this case.”

Franklin worked in law enforcement for 34 years with the Maryland State Police, Baltimore Police and Maryland Transit Administration.

Police, he said, received information that Abdullah had displayed a handgun and possessed reasonable suspicion to stop him and conduct a pat down for weapons.

When officers approached him, Abdullah tried to evade police and moved a satchel to the front of his body, Franklin said, and that is what prompted a detective to try to grab Abdullah around the shoulder.

“The nature of the call of this person having displayed a firearm, I give this officer credit for having the restraint for having his firearm still holstered while he’s grabbing onto him,” Franklin said.

When the two start to go to the ground, Franklin said, the gun begins to come out. Abdullah, he said, then points the weapon in the direction of police.

As Abdullah is on the ground, he loses the gun but reaches and retrieves it, Franklin said.

“Now, they’re clearly engaged in a gun battle,” Franklin said. “So, per training, you shoot until there’s no longer a threat.”

Banner reporters Lillian Reed, Dylan Segelbaum and Clara Longo de Freitas contributed to this report.