The Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE, Md. — A man suspected of robbing an Upper Fells Point fast-food restaurant last night was shot by a city police officer during a struggle for the suspect’s gun a few blocks from the robbery scene, a Police Department spokeswoman said.
Moments before the shooting, two other police officers were chasing the suspect on foot.
About 7 p.m., Southeastern District Officer Modesto A. Olivio Jr., a seven-year member of the force on patrol in his cruiser near the 1900 block of Gough St., saw the man being chased while keeping one hand in his waistband as if armed, said Officer Nicole Monroe, the spokeswoman.
Monroe said none of the three officers realized at the time that the Burger King in the 2000 block of Eastern Ave. had been robbed by a gunman moments earlier. The man’s demeanor and flight from the two officers appeared suspicious, she said.
Monroe said that when Olivio got out of his cruiser and confronted the suspect in the 1900 block of Gough St., the man pulled a .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic handgun from his waistband and tried to shoot the officer.
Monroe said that during a struggle for the gun, the officer pulled his own .40-caliber Glock handgun and shot the man at least once in the stomach. Olivio was not injured.
Moments later, nearly a dozen other officers responded and cordoned off the scene with yellow crime-scene tape and police cars.
Monroe said the unidentified gunman was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital and was in serious condition. Money found in his pockets was believed to have been taken in the robbery, she said.
Olivio was expected to be placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, she said.
So far this year, including last night’s incident, city police have shot 32 people, 12 of whom were killed.
Copyright 2007 The Baltimore Sun