Two police officers were shot Saturday morning in what officials are calling an ambush while tracking down a suspect in West Baltimore who had assaulted two women earlier in the day.
Police did not name wounded officers Saturday afternoon but said a 44-year-old officer, a 17-year veteran of the department, suffered three bullet wounds - including a serious one to the abdomen, which is not believed to be life-threatening. Another officer, who is 42 years old with three years' experience, suffered a minor wound to the buttock and was released from the hospital.
The suspect, who was shot twice by one of the officers, was taken to a local hospital and is expected to survive, said police spokesman Donny Moses.
Police had no plans to release any of the names on Saturday, Moses said.
As the more seriously injured officer underwent surgery at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III called the suspect a "maniac" who spent the morning engaged in mayhem across the city. The officer was out of surgery Saturday night and is expected to survive, according to Moses.
The 34-year-old man, who police said has a long arrest record, first forced himself into a home in the 3200 block of Lake Ave. in Northeast Baltimore, brandishing a handgun, Bealfeld said. He threatened a woman and, before leaving, fired a shot either into the air or into the ground.
Someone called 911, and police put out a description of the suspect and his red Ford Explorer.
At 11 a.m., another 911 call about domestic violence came in, this time from the 2400 block of Harlem Ave. When an officer arrived, a woman there told him she had been assaulted and the suspect had fled. The officer used the victim's cell phone to call the suspect and persuaded him to return to the scene.
The suspect arrived in the Explorer. When the officer confronted him, the man opened fire with a 9 mm handgun, hitting the officer in the buttock. The officer was able to take cover and call for backup.
A responding officer pulled up behind the SUV. The suspect fired through the driver's side window, hitting the officer three times - in the chest, the abdomen and the left arm. The officer was able to get out on the passenger side and fire at the suspect, hitting him twice - in the thigh and the arm.
"If these officers were not there to stop this maniac, who knows what he would have done?" Bealefeld said angrily, calling the shooting an "ambush" and describing the officers as "incredible heroes."
