Howard County Police

A Baltimore man was critically injured in a parking garage near the Columbia mall Thursday night when his van jumped a curb and struck a concrete support post, Howard County police said. About 7:09 p.m., Shmuel Yaakov Kleiner, 60, of the 6000 block of Clover Road in the Glen neighborhood of Northwest Baltimore, was driving a 2003 Acura MDX on the first floor of the parking garage at 10490 Little Patuxent Parkway when it hopped a curb and struck the post, police said. Kleiner was medevaced to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in critical condition by Maryland State Police, police said.

A Baltimore man was fatally shot by a Howard County police officer during a joint effort by Baltimore City and Howard County police to arrest him at a home in Columbia late Thursday, according to Howard County police. The man, who was not identified late Thursday because his family hadn't yet been notified of his death, was wanted on assault, reckless endangerment and gun charges stemming from a domestic dispute with his child's mother early Thursday morning, Howard police said. Officers from both jurisdictions surrounded the home in the 9000 block of Constant Course Thursday night after learning of the man's presence there and obtaining a warrant for his arrest, Howard police said.

Michele Lorenz, a 42-year-old Columbia woman, died in a car accident in Columbia on Monday night after her truck collided with a tree, according to Howard County police. Police responded to the 5600 block of High Tor Hill about 9:30 p.m. for a report that a truck had crashed, police said. Police said based on an initial investigation, they believe the woman was alone, driving a 1999 Dodge Dakota south on the road when the truck left the roadway and struck the tree. Police believe speed and failure to drive within a single lane contributed to the crash.

A 42-year-old woman was killed in a fatal car accident in Columbia on Monday night after her truck collided with a tree, according to Howard County police. Police responded to the 5600 block of High Tor Hill about 9:30 p.m. for a report that a truck had crashed, police said. Police said based on an initial investigation, they believe the woman was alone, driving a 1999 Dodge Dakota south on the road when the truck left the roadway for an unknown reason and struck the tree. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Maryland police regularly send heavily armed tactical officers to raid houses searching for criminal suspects or evidence. Sometimes the operations turn deadly, as in a recent case in Reisterstown when a Baltimore County officer shot a man who police said attacked him with a sword. One of the first questions The Baltimore Sun asks after such an encounter is whether officers had a “no-knock” warrant, which would have allowed them to enter without having to announce themselves, even briefly, before going through the door.

A member of Baltimore County's tactical unit was identified Monday as the officer who killed a Reisterstown man last week when police attempted to search his home for suspects in a Howard County shooting. The officer, Carlos Artson, was previously involved in a civil suit after he fatally shot a woman during a 2005 raid in Dundalk. On Thursday night, Artson fatally shot Ronald Cox, who police say attacked officers with a sword, damaging Artson's protective shield. Artson, a 17-year veteran of the police force, remains on administrative duty with pay pending a review by the department.

A 35-year-old Beltsville man was being sought Sunday by Howard County Police for allegedly shooting his estranged girlfriend and one of her friends during a suspected domestic dispute at an Ellicott City spa on Saturday, according to police. Tuan Minh Pham, of the 11900 block of Beltsville Drive, has been charged with two counts each of first-degree attempted murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault, as well as reckless endangerment and multiple gun charges in the incident, police said.

A Baltimore County police officer shot and killed the sword-wielding uncle of an attempted-murder suspect Thursday, authorities said, in a bizarre end to a case that began when a teen was found in a Howard County field last month with a gunshot wound to the head. Police said the man, Ronald Melvin Cox, 48, swung a large sword at tactical officers as they entered an upstairs bedroom in his home in the 400 block of Highmeadow Road in Reisterstown. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Howard County police detectives searched the office of the Columbia Housing Corporation on Wednesday in an investigation involving an employee, a lawyer representing the nonprofit agency said in a statement. Thomas Meachum, of Columbia, said in an email that the agency "provided the information and documentation requested by the Police Department, and will continue to provide any other information the Department feels it needs to conduct its investigation of the employee. The employee in question has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.

With record highs on tap for the next few days , experts are reminding us to keep an eye out on our kids and vehicles. The Howard County Police are asking people to remember the kids can get overheated very quickly, and that cars parked in direct sunlight can reach temperatures of 131 degrees to 172 degrees F when outside temperatures are 80-100, and we're expecting higher than 100. "It's critical that caregivers know it is never safe...