A Baltimore Police officer fired his weapon at two people fleeing from a West Baltimore liquor store where a man was shot on Friday night.
Just before 9 p.m., two officers patrolling together in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood heard gunshots, Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said at a news conference late Friday night. They saw two leaving the 57 Liquor Store on the corner of North Carey and Laurens streets. One officer fired “several rounds” at them, Worley said.
“At this time, we don’t have any evidence that the officer struck the suspect,” Worley said. Police arrested a 39-year-old man who had fled in a vehicle, but the other person ran away on foot. The police department’s helicopter, Foxtrot, was part of the pursuit.
Worley said it wasn’t yet clear if the two people had shot at police first, but police believed they had fired first based on something said in a body-worn camera video.
Other officers who responded found a 31-year-old man inside the store who had been shot in the leg. Police said his injuries were non-life-threatening and he was being treated at a hospital. Police believe the victim was a customer of the liquor store, not an employee, and that the shooting was not part of a robbery.
Officers also recovered two weapons from the scene, Worley said.
Police blocked off the intersection and a few blocks in either direction around the liquor store, which has bright yellow awning. The crime tape scene remained up at midnight as investigators continued their work. The department’s Special Investigations Response team is investigating the incident because at least one police officer fired shots.
“It’s another wonderful job done by our officers: hearing the discharging, going towards the area and probably saving the life of a victim who had been shot at least once,” Worley said.
