2 Arrested In Baltimore Officer Shooting; Victim On Life Support

BALTIMORE, MD — A Baltimore police officer remains on life support at Maryland Shock Trauma, while two men have been arrested in the case and implicated in another shooting, authorities said Friday.

Officer Keona Holley, 39, was shot in her police car and underwent surgery early Thursday. Officials described the attack as an ambush and offered a $118,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Elliot Knox, 31, and Travon Shaw, 32, are both charged with attempted murder in Officer Holley’s shooting. The pair also face murder charges in the shooting death of Justin Johnson, who was killed Thursday in the 600 block of Lucia Avenue about an hour after Holley was shot.

Baltimore police used surveillance video and license plate readers to connect the suspects to the Holley shooting, WJZ reported.

Knox is the owner of the car that sped away from Holley's shooting, and when questioned by police he said that while he was there, Shaw fired the shots that critically injured Holley, The Baltimore Sun reported.

“We don’t know why they did this. We have absolutely confessions they did they were there, we don’t have a motive as to why,” said Police Commissioner Michael Harrison.

Investigators seized two guns and ballistic evidence matches both shooting cases, Harrison said.

The documents also show that Holley was shot twice in the head, once in the leg and once in the hand, the newspaper reported.

"These incidents are tragic reminders of the culture of violence that pervades Baltimore," Harrison said in a statement. "Life is precious and sacred, but unfortunately, there are those who have no regard for it."

Shaw was released by the courts while he awaits trial in Baltimore County for a March 2020 arrest for being a felon in possession of a firearm, the Sun reported. He was convicted for a 2006 armed robbery and assault.

Knox was convicted of three armed robberies in 2006 at age 16 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The Sun reported Knox sued the state and corrections officers over claims he was assaulted at North Branch Correctional Institution; the case was settled.

While working the midnight shift in a high-crime area, Officer Holley had been parked in the 4400 block of Pennington Avenue when the attackers came from behind her vehicle and shot inside, Harrison said.

Court documents said Holley was shot twice in the head, once in the leg and once in the hand.

It was a "cowardly, brazen act," Harrison said.

When she was shot, Holley's vehicle was parked near a building, then it accelerated and returned to a resting position, Harrison said. Officers found Holley when they were called to the area in Curtis Bay at 1:30 a.m. Thursday for a crash.

At 2:15 a.m., she was admitted to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, according to Dr. Thomas Scalea, physician in chief at the R Adams Cowley University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Scalea said the officer was in intensive care with life-threatening injuries after being operated on.

"She's critically ill," Scalea said. Her injuries are "going to evolve over time" and are not going to be an easy fix, he said.

Holley is assigned to the Southern District and has been with the Baltimore Police Department for two years, according to Harrison.

She is a "public servant who risked her life each and every day, who went above and beyond the call of duty," Mayor Brandon Scott said at a Thursday night news conference.

"She volunteered to work overtime ... in an area where we know we're experiencing violence in the city, because she is a public servant and she's dedicated — tirelessly dedicated — to her job," Scott said. "She is a beloved colleague, mother, friend, and sister and daughter."

Holley's sister — Lawanda Sykes — said it had been her sibling's lifelong dream to serve in the Baltimore Police Department, and in addition to being a policewoman, she was a mother.

"This has to be where it stops," Sykes said Thursday night. "At some point, this city has to turn around. It's not just for my sister. It's for all of us."

She added: "My sister is fighting for her life, and we will continue to fight for her and with her."

Metro Crime Stoppers, the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI and the Fraternal Order of Police joined the Baltimore Police Department in offering a $59,000 reward, which Gov. Larry Hogan reported the state was matching.

Those with information can call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-756-2587.