Methadone Clinic Shooting: Gunman, Worker Identified

BALTIMORE, MD — Police have identified the gunman and the worker he killed at a methadone clinic Monday morning in Baltimore. The shooter died in a gunfight with police. Two others — a Baltimore police sergeant and a woman working at the clinic — were injured, officials said.

Ashanti Pinkney, 49, who lived on West 20th Street, was reportedly the man who opened fire inside Man Alive, a drug treatment clinic in the 2100 block of Maryland Avenue, after 7 a.m. on Monday, July 15.

He had been buzzed into the building, which had a secure entrance, before authorities were called at 7:09 a.m.

Pinkney had gone into the clinic with a gun and demanded methadone, according to The Baltimore Sun, which reported a friend he usually smoked a joint with beforehand said he seemed to have been acting differently that day, turning down marijuana and saying outlandish things at 6 a.m.

He went on to kill David Caldwell, 52, who was working as a phlebotomist for LabCorp at the clinic, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Despite attempts by police to deescalate the situation, Pinkney fired at Sgt. Bill Shiflett, a 25-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, who was shot underneath his bulletproof vest. Shiflett was being treated at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, police said, where he was in stable condition.

A 41-year-old woman who was working at the clinic was also injured, and she was treated at the hospital and released Monday, July 15, according to WJZ. How she became injured was unclear.

Police said that a weapon was recovered at the scene.

RELATED: 2 Dead, 2 Hurt In Baltimore Methadone Clinic Shooting

Caldwell, who reportedly lives in south Baltimore, had reportedly been concerned about his safety in the neighborhood where he was working.

On Tuesday, officials told WBAL that Shifflett and another officer fired a gun in the shootout, and an autopsy would determine which one's bullet killed Pinkney.

Officer Chris Miller was credited with getting his supervisor to safety after Shiflett was shot.

"This was a dangerous situation that could have been far worse for our officers," Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said.

He thanked Miller for his "extreme courage, extreme bravery and extreme professionalism."