Office In Baltimore

Police on Tuesday worked to find out more about the backgrounds of the two men wounded and one man killed in an overnight shootout with officers in West Baltimore. The incident took place about 10 p.m. Monday after two officers on foot patrol in the 2700 block of Edmondson Ave. saw gunfire coming out of a bronze sedan, police said. The officers fired on the car, police said. All three men shot were in the vehicle, police said. Police did not know the dead man's identity Tuesday and were running his fingerprints through databases.

A man was shot in the arm and upper body by a Baltimore police officer in the 3000 block of Spaulding Ave. in Northwest Baltimore on Tuesday night after firing at the officer while trying to flee the scene of earlier gunfire, according to police. The man, who was not immediately identified, was listed in serious but stable condition at an area hospital late Tuesday, police said. His injuries were not considered life-threatening. Officers with the Violent Crime Impact Section, which routinely patrols that area near Pimlico Race Course , responded to the scene about 9 p.m. after hearing gunfire, said Anthony Guglielmi, a police spokesman.

A Washington correctional officer was one of three men killed early today and yesterday in violence in Baltimore.An off-duty city police officer was wounded and another officer was placed on administrative leave after fatally shooting a robbery suspect, police said.The correctional officer, Frank Durham 3rd, 38, of Woodbridge, Va., was gunned down near Pennsylvania and North avenues as he sat in his car with his girlfriend. He worked at the District of Columbia detention center at Lorton, Va.City police were called to the 2400 block of Woodbrook Ave. at 4:40 a.m. and found Durham in the car. He had been shot in the neck and shoulder.

Former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, known for widening business opportunities for minorities, is opening a branch of his securities company in Baltimore. Jackson Securities Inc., which has already hired a Baltimore representative, will open the office as soon as the company can find space, Jackson said yesterday during a meeting with Mayor Martin O'Malley. Jackson introduced his company to O'Malley during a one-hour meeting, while also trying to sell the mayor on the company's services.

A frightening earthquake jolted Baltimore and much of the East Coast on Tuesday, shaking buildings and rattling nerves. Thousands of people streamed from offices and homes into the afternoon sunshine, stunned by a phenomenon more commonly associated with seismic hot spots like California and Japan. Area officials reported that the quake caused only pockets of significant damage, and there were no known deaths or serious injuries, locally or nationwide. But the sense of alarm was widespread as mystified residents jammed phone networks trying to reach loved ones and officials scrambled to assess the fallout.

Alexander & Alexander Services Inc. reported yesterday a 5.3 percent decline in income for the second quarter because of what the New York-based company's chairman called "considerable pressure" on its North American retail operations.Net income for the quarter that ended June 30 fell to $21.5 million, or 33 cents per share, from $22.7 million, or 36 cents per share in 1995. Operating revenue rose 2.2 percent, to $335.2 million from $328.1 million a year earlier.The company, which provides professional risk-management and human-resources consulting, along with insurance brokerage services, has major sales and administrative operations in Baltimore and Owings Mills.

In his most trying times, Scott A. McElfish did not complain. Since November last year, the Baltimore County police sergeant had endured surgery, radiation treatments, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. Like many cancer patients, he lost his hair, lost weight and had to deal with sometimes excruciating pain. And he knew his prognosis was grim. But he remained steadfast. Afflicted with an aggressive cancer called Ewing's sarcoma, he wanted to complete two missions: take his family to Disney World and finish a tree house behind their Parkville home.

A long-awaited plan to rebuild downtown's west side and the blighted Howard Street shopping district recommends the areas be infused with new middle-class housing units, shops, offices and cultural and hospitality-related uses.To be unveiled today by a partnership of city officials, private foundations and property owners, the West Side Task Force's study is aimed at improving the character of a large district that is underused and marked by vacant buildings and small retail operations.The study calls for the reopening of Lexington Street to vehicles from Liberty Street to Eutaw Street -- a stretch that was made into an urban mall in the 1960s.

A Pasadena man was charged yesterday with hiring a hit man for $20,000 to kill his fiancee during a staged robbery, all in hopes of reaping a financial windfall, according to Baltimore police and the victim's relatives.But the scheme that left Teresa McLeod dead and the suspect wounded Friday night quickly unravelled as city police investigated several discrepancies in the man's account.Ironically, although police and relatives said the suspect, Robert Harris, 23, hoped to cash in on a life insurance policy, the victim's mother said yesterday that the $150,000 policy was intended to benefit the victim's 9-year-old son.Police yesterday arrested Mr. Harris, of the 1000 block of Tennant Harbour, at his lawyer's office in downtown Baltimore and charged him with first-degree murder.