BALTIMORE
--
A Baltimore city police officer was in serious condition Wednesday morning after he was shot by a man during an incident Tuesday that started as a routine traffic stop, according to city police officials.
Officer Mark Spila, 25, is being treated at Shock Trauma.
Officials told WBAL TV 11 News that two plain-clothes officers that were part of a gang unit pulled a car over for a routine traffic stop around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Poplar Grove Street and Lanvale Avenue in the southwestern section of the city.
Police said that the car had at least three people inside, and as the officers approached, one man got out of the car and started arguing. The man then pulled a handgun and fired multiple times, striking Spila in the midsection.
Spila, a 3-year veteran of the force, underwent surgery Tuesday night. Doctors told 11 News that the shot fractured several bones in his upper hip, but didn't hit his femoral artery, which can be fatal if struck.
According to police, one or two of the suspects then ran into a house. Officers went to the house, and a woman who answered the door told them that no one was there, police said.
The officers went into the home and found an armed suspect who fired shots at them, police told 11 News. And officer ran but wasn't hit.
Police said one of the suspects in the house chased the officer and continued firing. Other officers then fired at that suspect, who was hit multiple times. That suspect was also taken to Shock Trauma in critical condition, officials told 11 News.
Police believed another suspect was still barricaded inside the house, but by 6 p.m. they were able to search the home, finding it empty, officials said.
According to Sky Team 11 Capt. Roy Taylor, Poplar Grove Street was shut down from Edmondson Avenue to a few blocks north of the scene and that there was heavy police presence.
Alexander Hamilton Elementary School and Calverton Middle School were placed on lockdown due to their close locations to the scene. Officials told 11 News around 4:30 p.m. that students were being moved to the Empowerment Academy in the 800 block of Braddish Avenue so parents could pick them up.
Some students told 11 News that they heard gunshots and that their teachers sprang into action, telling them to get down. Other students said they were scared, but that their teachers made them feel comfortable.
Witnesses told 11 News that the scene was chaotic.
"All I heard were shots, that's it. It was so fast, I couldn't count them," Butch Tyson said.
"I saw a few police cars when I drove up. A couple of them came behind me, and it didn't dawn on me that anything was happening right there. So, I just turned at Park, and that's when they came
they were coming up this street, running everywhere. That's when they told me, 'Don't get out,'" said witness Vanessa Davis.
Police said they found a handgun in an alley nearby and are trying to determine if it was used in the shooting.
City officials continued to reiterate that violent offenders need to be stopped.
"We've got to continue to send the message to these violent offenders
this is unacceptable," said Mayor Sheila Dixon.
Copyright 2008 by wbaltv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
