Burglary suspect is killed when he drove car toward them in Mount Airy
Two Howard County police officers were placed on administrative leave after a man was fatally shot Monday during a traffic stop in Mount Airy.
The Frederick County sheriff’s office said a man was killed during the incident, which occurred in an area that straddles the Howard and Frederick county line.
Police said the man struck the Howard County officers’ police car with his vehicle and drove toward the officers as they stood outside their car. The two officers fired, striking the male driver, who was pronounced dead.
Neither officer was injured in the incident. Their names had not been released as of Monday evening.
The sheriff’s office said the deceased man was in his 20s, but did not release his name. A woman in the vehicle, also described as in her 20s, was not identified. She was not injured, authorities said. The sheriff’s office said she had not been charged.
Officials said members of the Howard Police Department’s repeat offenders unit were in Frederick County as part of a multi-jurisdictional investigation into a series of burglaries.
Frederick officials said the Howard County officers spotted a burglary in progress on Manor Drive and contacted the sheriff’s office. The officers were instructed by Frederick officials to conduct a traffic stop.
Officials said it was during the stop in the 12900 block of Penn Shop Road near Route 27 that the suspect struck the Howard County police car and drove toward officers before being shot.
Frederick County sheriff’s office Maj. Tim Clarke said it was not yet known how many shots were fired. He said there is no dash camera footage or body camera footage of the incident.
Yessica Garcia-Benitez, 13, lives across the street from the scene of the shooting and said she was in the kitchen helping her mother at the time.
“I heard one gunshot,” she said. She said the shot seemed normal because people hunt at a nearby pond — but then she heard police sirens afterward.
Howard County Police Chief Gary Gardner noted the shooting occurred in Frederick County and said the Frederick County sheriff’s office would conduct the investigation.
“Howard County police will cooperate fully in their investigation and provide them with any information or assistance they need,” he said in a statement.
He also said Howard County police will initiate their own internal investigation, which he said is standard in shootings involving police officers.
“It is a difficult day when there is an incident that results in the loss of life,” Gardner said.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
