Bullet-resistant vest prevented serious injury, department official says
By Gus G. Sentementes
The Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE — An Anne Arundel County police officer was shot in the upper body this morning during a struggle with a man in South Baltimore’s Brooklyn neighborhood, but he was saved from serious injury by his bullet-resistant vest, according to a county police spokesman.
The officer, whose name has not yet been released, was rushed to Maryland Shock Trauma Center as a precaution, police said. A suspect has been arrested in the 6:30 a.m. shooting and is being questioned by police detectives.
Sgt. John Gilmer, a spokesman with the Anne Arundel County Police Department, said county officers responded to Audrey Avenue in the county for a report that a group of men were inside a stolen car. While en route, they got another call that the men were ransacking the car.
Officers went up Audrey Avenue, crossed into Baltimore City and stopped a man at 6th Street in Brooklyn who fit the description given by witnesses, Gilmer said. The man became combative and the officer sprayed him with pepper spray, Gilmer said.
During the struggle, Gilmer said the man pulled out a gun and fired at the officer, hitting his vest covering the upper body. Gilmer said the officer returned fire but it was not immediately clear if the suspect was hit. Gilmer said the gunman was arrested.
No other information was released. It could not be determined what kind of gun was used or how far the suspect was from the officer when he was shot.
Copyright 2008 The Baltimore Sun