Police ID Officers Involved in Fatal Elkridge Incident

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Police have identified the officers involved in the deadly domestic incident in Elkridge over the weekend.

William Mathis, 41, of no fixed address, was shot and killed Saturday morning after police allege he tried to strangle an officer and struggled with two others following a break-in at his estranged wife's home in the 6300 block of Woodland Forest Drive in Elkridge.

Officer First Class Matthew Shiplett, a three-year veteran of the Howard County Police Department, was the one who fired his weapon, according to police.

Mathis was reportedly pronounced deceased at the scene.

The other officers at the location were identified as Officer Jacob Lorentson, who has been with the department one year, and Officer First Class Joel Henderson, a 16-year veteran.

Shiplett and Lorentson were treated and released from Howard County General Hospital, officials said.

Authorities said Mathis had a history of violating protective orders, and there was reportedly one in effect at the time he broke into the residence of his estranged wife, who was at home along with three small children.

At 8:52 a.m., authorities said a woman called 911 to report that her estranged husband was at her home and as she screamed for help that he was breaking in, the phone dropped.

Police arrived to find the back door shattered and Mathis engaged the officers in a violent encounter before he was fatally shot. Police declined to disclose which officer was strangled by Mathis and which struggled with him.

The woman and children were uninjured, according to police.

Related: Suspect Killed by Police in Domestic Incident in Elkridge

Image via Howard County Police Department.