Police Fatally Shoot Man Accused Of Loading Gun Near MoCo Bus Stop

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — A man accused of loading a gun while at a bus stop in Gaithersburg was fatally shot by police on Sunday.

Montgomery County Police said the incident took place on the 9600 block of Lost Knife Road, at the Montgomery Village Plaza shopping center.

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Officers with the Gaithersburg City Police and Montgomery County Police departments both responded to the scene shortly before 7 p.m.

The weapons complaint that prompted the response came from a caller who told officials that a man had been seen with a gun at the bus stop in front of the shopping center.

At the scene, authorities began de-escalation tactics while other officers worked to direct residents away from the plaza's parking lot.

"While interacting with the subject, the adult male took actions which caused the officers to discharge their service weapons," police said in a release.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and a handgun was recovered.

No officers or bystanders in the area were injured during the incident. Investigators have also not provided any specifics on the man's identity.

Captain Cody Fields, the media and public information director for Montgomery County Police, said during a Sunday news conference that the shooting was deemed an isolated incident.

Fields did not specify what "actions" the man took before he was fatally shot.

"We want to extend our deepest sympathies to the family involved. We want to extend our sympathies to their loved ones, to their friends, and they are receiving devastating news this evening,” Fields said.

"We have to acknowledge that that's the case, and we ask for privacy and respect to be extended to the family and those that are involved in the incident."

The case into the shooting has since been handed to the Maryland Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division, per protocol. Officers involved in the shooting have also been placed on administrative leave, pending the investigation.