The incident is the eighth police-involved shooting this year and the second police-involved fatality, and occurred during a violent night in Baltimore in which at least one other man was killed and multiple people were wounded by gunfire.
The man in Canton, a 42-year-old Baltimore resident who has not yet been identified publicly, was killed in the exchange of gunfire, said Anthony Guglielmi, a police spokesman. Two women who had been engaged in the dispute with the man were shot, a 28-year-old in the ear and a 22-year-old in the arm, Guglielmi said.
Police are "operating under the belief" that the women were shot by the now deceased man during the gunfire heard by the officers prior to their exchange of fire with the man, Guglielmi said, but detectives are "combing through ballistics" and reconstructing the volatile scene to learn more.
No police officers or other civilians were injured, he said.
Uniformed police officers had first responded to the 3400 block of Foster Ave. in Canton about 11:45 p.m. for an initial call about a man acting disorderly at a home there, Guglielmi said.
They "handled" the disturbance between the man and two women, one of them his wife, Guglielmi said. Minutes later, plain-clothed officers wearing bullet-proof vests identifying them as police officers heard gunshots coming from the same area and responded, he said.
Outside of the home, the man confronted the officers with a gun, Guglielmi said.
"They get into a running gun battle in the neighborhood, multiple shots were fired, and officers struck the suspect," Guglielmi said. The gun battle was contained to the area outside a "few houses" on the block, he said.
A total of three plain-clothed officers fired their weapons, Guglielmi said. He said it was unclear how many rounds the officers fired.
The two women were then also identified as having been wounded, Guglielmi said. He did not know if they were found inside the home or outside.
Police believe the women were shot by the man before his exchange of gunfire with the officers, but because of the sensitive nature of the case "are also exploring whether they were shot in relation to the suspect's confrontation with police," Guglielmi said.
The man and two women were all transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where the man was pronounced dead, Guglielmi said. The women's injuries were considered non-life-threatening, he said.
An internal investigation has been launched and the officers involved, who have not yet been identified publicly, have been placed on routine administrative duty, as is the case with all police-involved shootings, he said.
This year there have been eight police-involved shootings involving nine victims, two who have died.
Last year there were a total of 15 police-involved shootings involving 15 victims, nine who died.
In the second overnight killing, police responded to the 2700 block of Jefferson St. in McElderry Park and found an unidentified man face down in the street and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, Guglielmi said.
He was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital about 1:25 a.m.
Three hours later, police reported another homicide investigation after a man with critical gunshot injuries was found at the intersection of McCulloh and Prestman streets in the Druid Heights neighborhood. Guglielmi said Friday morning that he did not know if the man had died, but that homicide detectives were investigating.
Police were also investigating two other shootings Thursday night of a man in the 400 block of North Robinson St. in the Ellwood Park/Monument neighborhood and a woman at the intersection of West Patapsco and Janice avenues in the Lakeland neighborhood. Both were expected to survive.
source-www.baltimoresun.com