A Baltimore police officer was shot in the leg Tuesday while responding to a burglary call, and the gunman was killed by a second officer in a confrontation that left two civilian women endangered, Police Commissioner Richard Worley said. The wounded officer was in stable condition at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
The encounter moved fast, Worley said. One woman jumped out of a window during the standoff; another was held at gunpoint by the man before officers opened fire. “It was relatively quick because he was firing on our officers,” Worley said.
The man who died was related to people at the home, Worley said. No names were released for the officer or the gunman.
Dr. Thomas Scalea of University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center praised a fellow officer’s immediate response, crediting a “buddy” who applied a tourniquet at the scene with aiding the wounded officer’s outcome.
Mayor Brandon Scott said he was relieved that the confrontation had not been worse. “We’re just so thankful that the officer or any other folks in that neighborhood were not severely harmed,” Scott told reporters. “Our thoughts are with him and his family, and even the family of the deceased.”
The Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police, which represents officers, said “all involved members are in good spirits.”