A police-involved shooting in Baltimore’s Upton neighborhood Tuesday evening left a man in critical condition and an officer injured — and quickly escalated into tensions flaring between law enforcement and bystanders who crowded the scene.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said officers patrolling around the area of Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street shortly after 7 p.m. approached a man who they believed to be armed.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division released new details on Wednesday about the shooting. In the preliminary investigation report, the Independent Investigation Division said officers were in an unmarked cruiser when they approached the man.
The man wore a crossbody bag while standing on a corner as officers attempted to speak to him from the unmarked cruiser, the Office of the Attorney General said. An officer got out of the car and began following him.
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The man then proceeded to run from officers, Worley said. According to the attorney general’s office, the man shifted his crossbody bag from back to front before running off.
Amidst a chase and attempts to detain him, he shot at the officers, hitting one in his foot, Worley said. The attorney general’s office does not confirm whose gun initially discharged but said the man pointed a firearm at the three officers who then fired multiple shots at the man.
The man, who police have not identified, died Tuesday night, while the injured officer was in fair condition, officials said. The involved officers are on administrative leave, a department spokesperson said.
Worley said the officers tried to give the victim medical aid but were disrupted by a gaggle of concerned residents. According to Worley, when officers chased the man, crowds of individuals followed and “overtook them,” making for a chaotic scene that led to the dispatch of other agencies.
“The crowd actually interfered with our ability to give the victim aid. They basically swamped and swarmed our officers,” Worley said. “Officers from all around the city had to come to kind of quash the disturbance so that we could get the victim to the hospital.”
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A helicopter flew over the neighborhood as more than a dozen Baltimore City cruisers lit up Pennsylvania Avenue minutes after the shooting.
Some officers redirected traffic near West McMechen Street.
Several bystanders filled the area near the metro by a T-Mobile store on Pennsylvania Avenue with their smartphones in hand, expressing anger at what they called an incident of police brutality.
A group of people migrated a few blocks north in an apparent face-off with cops.
“Please disperse the area immediately,” a voice from the helicopter said to the crowd of people.
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A few hours later around 10 p.m. as Baltimore police prepared to deliver a media briefing on the earlier shooting, officers responded to reports of gunshots in the 1900 block of East Lafayette Avenue.
When officers arrived, they found a male victim with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Baltimore Police Department homicide detectives at 410-396-2100. Those who wish to remain anonymous may utilize the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
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