'Armed And Dangerous': Police On Suspect In Officer Shooting

BALTIMORE, MD — A police officer was shot and injured in south Baltimore Tuesday night, according to authorities. The suspect remains at large, and the officer is expected to survive.

The shooting occurred in the 1000 block of Light Street after the officer followed someone he suspected was driving under the influence, according to the Baltimore Police Department.

Antonio Oliver Janifer, 28, is wanted in the shooting, police said Wednesday. He is considered armed and dangerous, authorities advised.

Police said Officer Joshua Jackson was on patrol when he noticed someone driving erratically near the intersection of East Pratt at Light streets and tried to conduct a traffic stop. When the vehicle sped off, the policeman followed the vehicle, which crashed in the 1000 block of Light Street, officials reported.

The driver got out and ran, and Officer Jackson followed suit, officials said. The suspect fired at the officer, hitting him in the lower abdomen, police said. He was alert and talking, according to the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police.

Police Commissioner Michael Harrison reportedly said the officer's bulletproof vest may have saved his life.

See Also: ‘Rapping Cop’ Injured In Federal Hill Shooting

The officer was treated at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center for a gunshot wound that was not believed to be life-threatening, police reported after midnight. Police said he was released Wednesday.

In addition to firing at the officer, WBFF reported the suspect allegedly carjacked two vehicles.

The suspect is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information may call police or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

"The level of violence on our streets is completely unacceptable," Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young said in a statement Tuesday night.

Earlier on Tuesday, Commissioner Harrison addressed the wave of violence that was reported over the Memorial Day weekend in the city.

Multiple people were killed by homicide, with the following reported by police:

• Approximately 1:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Western District, a man died at a hospital after being shot multiple times in the 2200 block of Presbury Street.
• Before 9:45 p.m. Monday in the Northwest District, a man was found shot multiple times in the 3300 block of Liberty Heights. He was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.
• At 8:06 p.m. Sunday, an officer in the Northeast District heard gunfire and located a man shot multiple times in the 5200 block of Frankford Avenue. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
• At 6:59 p.m. Sunday, an officer in the Eastern District heard gunfire and found a 41-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman shot near the intersection of Rutland Avenue and East Lafayette. Both were pronounced deceased.
• At 2:57 p.m. Sunday in the Northwest District, patrol officers were called to a reported shooting and found a man who had been shot several times in the 5100 block of Litchfield Avenue. He was taken to Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
• At 9:40 p.m. Saturday in the Southwest District, officers were called to a reported shooting in the 300 block of Collins Avenue, where they found a 21-year-old man shot multiple times. He was pronounced deceased.
• At 1:57 p.m. Saturday in the Western District, officers called to the 2100 block of Baker Street for a reported shooting found a man shot multiple times. He was pronounced deceased soon after.
• At 2:02 a.m. Saturday in the Northwest District, a 28-year-old man was treated for gunshot wounds at a hospital after being shot in the 3500 block of Spaulding Avenue. He died soon after seeking treatment at the hospital.
• At 10:33 a.m. Friday in the Northwest District, a 60-year-old man died at Sinai Hospital after he was found lying in the middle of the street in the 4200 block of Norfolk Avenue. Police said he had been shot by a man in a blue truck who drove away, based on witness accounts.

As of Tuesday morning, the Baltimore Police Department reported there had been 120 homicides so far this year, versus 119 at this time last year.

"There are many things that drive this culture," Harrison said at news conference with the mayor Tuesday afternoon. "At the core of it all are guns."

Consequences in many cases did not exist for those who were committing acts of violence, he said.

"Three if not four of the victims who died this weekend had a gun on them when we arrived," Harrison said. "There are many things that drive this culture. That's at the core of it."

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