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City resident Hunter Jessup, 27, took police on a foot chase before pulling a gun on officers, who in turn returned fire, killing him on Tuesday afternoon, officials say.
At around 12:35 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7, officers from the Southwest District were on patrol on Brunswick Avenue when they spotted a suspicious man they believed to be armed, leading to a temporary pursuit that spilled onto Wilkens Avenue.
Worley said that during the scuffle - during which officers repeatedly ordered that Jessup stop running - one of the officers attempted to tackle him, though he instead suffered a minor injury falling onto a set of steps, at which point the suspect took out a gun and pointed it toward the officers chasing him, and they returned fire.
Multiple officers reportedly fired shots and then rendered aid until Jessup could be taken to Shock Trauma, where he later died. An officer - originally believed to have been shot - was also hospitalized, but he was quickly released.
The Baltimore Police officers involved, according to the AG, were:
- William Healy, a 7-year veteran of the department;
- Brittany Routh, a 4-year veteran;
- Justin Oliva, a 3-year veteran;
- Brandon Columbo, a 3 year-veteran.
All four officers were assigned to the patrol division.
The shooting is still being investigated by the Baltimore Police Department and Maryland Attorney General's Office.
Prior to the shooting, the commissioner noted that officers believed Jessup to be armed, and when they approached him in what was described a "high-crime area," he took off running.
At the scene, Worley said that investigators recovered a handgun with an extended magazine, though it remains unclear if Jessup fired any shots before he was killed.
"While it's very early in the investigation, we know that incidents like this pull the heart out of the community," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said after the shooting. "We know that this again points at a bigger and broader issue about the flow of guns into our city and we cannot have individuals just walking around with these weapons, which can lead to incidents like today."
The investigation into the officer-involved shooting is ongoing.
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