Md. Officer Shot in Gun Battle: Assailant Shot Dead

--

Oct. 31--A 30-year Baltimore County police veteran was shot Friday while responding to a domestic dispute in the Parkville section of the county.

The officer, who was shot once in the shoulder, was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where police said he had surgery Friday night. He was released from the hospital midday Saturday.

Police did not immediately release the name of the officer.

County Police Chief Jim Johnson said that after the officer was shot, more police arrived and fatally shot the suspect in what the chief described as a "gun battle." The suspect was not identified.

The officer was dispatched to the 6800 block of Highview Ave. about 5:30 p.m., responding to a call about "a male beating a female individual," Johnson said.

When the officer arrived, he was shot once in the shoulder, police said. He was the first on the scene, and he arrived alone.

County police spokesman Bill Toohey said the officer was able to report gunfire, and that back-ups arrived within minutes.

After the other officers arrived, Johnson said, "the officers returned fire; the adversary is deceased."

Johnson could not provide the number of shots fired or the elapsed time between the first officer's arrival and the suspect's killing.

Johnson described the wounded officer as "one of my best, highly decorated officers."

Toohey added that the officer served under Johnson when the chief was commander of the White Marsh district.

Afterward, residents gathered near their modest brick and frame homes as police, fire and crime scene investigators went about their work.

A neighbor on the next block of Highview, who asked not to be named, said he heard "sounds like firecrackers in the street." When he stepped outside to investigate, he saw several police cars and officers "going down both sides of the street with guns drawn, hiding behind bushes" and taking cover behind their car doors.

"For the next couple of minutes all you heard was sirens, and people were telling us to get inside our homes," he said.

When the suspect's bungalow-style home was pointed out to him, the neighbor became quiet. He said he knew the family, and that he believed the couple's son was in his scout troop until recently, until the boy dropped out. He described the wife as "a nice woman; she kept pretty much to herself."