Police ID Officer Shot In Parkville, Man Who Called 911

PARKVILLE, MD — Police said the officer shot Thursday in Parkville remains hospitalized and was wounded by what appears to have been friendly fire from a fellow officer. The man whose 911 call prompted the police response was pronounced deceased at the scene, after investigators said he refused to follow commands, pointed a handgun at the officers and made an ominous statement.

Officer First Class T. Hays is in stable condition at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center after she underwent surgery for treatment of a gunshot wound to the upper body, authorities reported on Friday, May 3.

Hays, who is assigned to the Parkville precinct, was one of several officers dispatched at 1:37 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, to the 3000 block of Linwood Avenue, where police said a 911 caller reported a stranger was waving a gun at him in his home.

RELATED: Policewoman Shot In Parkville Is Florida Chief's Daughter

Robert Uhl Johnson, 76, had filed the report and hung up when the call-taker asked for additional information, and police said he did not answer upon call-back.

Arriving officers found Johnson sitting in a chair facing the front door. He would not get up or come out of the residence, according to police, who said that when one officer tried to speak with him, he said that he called 911 and there was nobody else in the home.

Officers entered the residence and ordered Johnson to keep his hands in the air, but police said he lowered his right hand to his thigh, picked up a handgun and stated: "I'm sorry I have to do this," pointing the gun at police. That prompted four officers, including Hays, to fire. Later, homicide investigators determined Johnson's weapon was unloaded.

They also said he had left his will and burial request out for officers to find.

"The Department provided misinformation shortly after the incident occurred, indicating that the suspect fired a weapon at the officers upon entering the home," the Baltimore County Police Department said in a statement on Friday. "Further review of body-worn camera footage and additional evidence now reveals that the suspect picked up a firearm, did not follow officers’ commands to put down the weapon, and pointed the gun at the officers, causing the officers to fire upon the suspect."

Hays and three other officers fired their weapons, police reported.

Cpl. Shawn Vinson of the Baltimore County Police Department told Patch late Friday afternoon that investigators were still trying to determine where the bullet came from that struck the officer.

"We are actively attempting to determine how and who shot Officer Hays, but it is clear that the suspect did not shoot," he said. "Four officers fired their weapons, and we are trying to determine which one struck Officer Hays."

It was the second shooting Hays had been involved in during her 13.5-year career on the force, police said; the last one was in 2008.

Authorities identified these as the three other officers, none of whom had been part of any other police-involved shootings:

• Officer First Class J. Hummel, an 18-year veteran
• Officer First Class A. Burns, a 17.5-year veteran
• Officer First Class J. Deford, a 10.5-year veteran

All the officers are on administrative leave, which is routine during an investigation into a police-involved shooting.

Once the Baltimore County Police Department's Homicide Unit has completed its investigation, it will submit the case to the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for review.

Florida Patch editor Paul Scicchitano contributed to this report.

In this video from 2016, Hays shared how she and other officers from the Parkville precinct helped make the 2015 holidays brighter for people in need; she was one of two who received an award from the Baltimore County Police Foundation for outstanding community service.