A man in the midst of a mental health episode while also holding a handgun was shot and killed by Baltimore County Police, Chief Robert McCullough confirmed.
Baltimore County officers responded to the 8200 block of North Boundary Road in Dundalk around 7:25 p.m. for a report of a subject experiencing a mental health episode.
When officers arrived on scene, they encountered the subject in the rear of the building, where the officers saw he was armed with a handgun. According to McCullough, after a brief exchange between the subject and an officer, the officer opened fire.
It is not yet known if the officers attempted the use of non-lethal methods prior to shooting the subject. Immediate medical aid was provided to the subject on the scene, and he was transported to a hospital shortly thereafter, where he was pronounced dead.
Two officers were directly involved in the incident. McCullough said both have been placed on administrative leave while an investigation occurs. The Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General's office is leading the investigation.
"We recognized in these types of incidents, even the person who was the victim or the person who was shot, they have family members, and we empathize with them, and there are a lot of people involved," McCullough said. "We knew it could make the community feel uneasy, but this was a very isolated incident, and there's no other threat to the community."
The shooting comes days after another armed man was shot by police. On Thursday, May 15, police said an armed man was injured after being shot by Baltimore County officers in Essex. Police said the person refused to drop the knife. As they attempted to get the person to comply, one of the officers fired his weapon, hitting the armed person, police said.
