Baltimore Police: Officer Accidentally Shot Himself in Carjacking Investigation

BALTIMORE, MD — An officer shot while investigating a carjacking Wednesday night accidentally fired his own weapon and injured himself, police said Thursday afternoon. Authorities initially reported that one of three suspects had shot the officer, a finding that officials said their detective work later disproved.

"Our investigation...concluded that in fact the officer had an accidental discharge of his own firearm..." Baltimore Police Chief of Media Relations T.J. Smith said.

The injured officer is a 15-year veteran of the agency and a 25-year veteran of the armed forces, Smith said, adding that his partner in the vehicle was a 25-year veteran of Baltimore Police Department.

Due to his status in the hospital, the officer has not yet been interviewed, authorities said Thursday afternoon.

The shooting occurred while officers were responding to a carjacking.

At 10:40 p.m., officials said three armed suspects had allegedly robbed two women as they were exiting a vehicle in the 200 block of Grindall Street, demanding their keys and purses.

The suspects took off in the women's 2011 Honda CRV, and officers were dispatched 40 minutes later to the 1000 block of Bethune Road after an investigator monitoring the CitiWatch cameras saw a vehicle matching the description there, police reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, at least one of the suspects fled, based on surveillance footage.

At that time, a detective in the passenger seat of an unmarked vehicle was hit by gunfire.

"It was chaos, of course," Smith said.

The initial theory that the suspect fired at the detective while fleeing was disproved based on physical evidence — the detective's window was up and not shattered, his door was unopened and he had one less round than he should have in his weapon, police reported.

The officer is in good condition at the hospital, with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, police reported Thursday. Police who have accidentally discharged their weapons may be retrained on firearms, Smith said.

Three people were taken into custody and identified as persons of interest in the carjacking. Smith said they have a history of "these kinds of acts."

This was not the first incident in which carjackers had struck in the Federal Hill area and taken the vehicle to Cherry Hill, according to police. On Oct. 7 there was a carjacking on Ostend Street, about 0.3 mile from Grindall Street. That vehicle was found and the suspect was arrested with a handgun and a mask, Smith said.

There was a "nexus," or connection, among several carjacking in the area, according to investigators.

"We're dealing with a number of juveniles..." Smith said, noting they were young people with guns. "However, we have not made any arrests at this time."

Screenshot from Baltimore Police footage of carjacking suspect running away on Oct. 12, 2016.