Grocery store robbed, while under police surveillance, officer shot in progress

[BullfrogKen]

WBAL is reporting this story. From reports:

• The store, Super Fresh, was under surveillance as a tip that it was targeted for robbery that day.
• Customers in the store at the time had no idea a robbery was in progress.
• The suspect shot an officer as he was searching the neighborhood for one suspect; he was holed up in a shed. Police are at this moment debating how to enter the shed to determine if the suspect is still alive and apprehend him.

Baltimore County Officer Shot And Rushed To Shock Trauma
Thursday, December 14, 2006
WBAL Radio


WBAL TV 11 Lead I-Team Reporter Jayne Miller has the latest from Shock Trauma

At Shock Trauma, Baltimore County Police Colonel William Kelly talks about the officer who was taken there this morning after being shot in Perry Hall

A Baltimore County police officer has been shot after an apparent robbery at a grocery store this morning in Perry Hall and police have a suspect cornered in a shed in the area.

The officer was taken by ambulance to Shock Trauma. Thick morning fog prevented the wounded officer's evacuation by helicopter.

His condition is reported to be "stable." He was shot twice.

The shooting occurred shortly after 7:30 a.m.

Baltimore County School officials say Perry Hall High School, Perry Hall Middle School and Perry Hall Elementary School have been locked down. No one is allowed in or out of the school as a precaution.

Tabernacle Christian School in Perry Hall closed soon after the incident. Parents of extended morning care children who were already at school should call the school for instructions on where to pick up their children.

Police were conducting surveillance at the Super Fresh grocery store after a series of robberies in the area this year when a robbery occurred, county police spokesman Cpl. Michael Hill said.

Two male suspects fled from the store with county officers in pursuit. One suspect was captured. Officers were searching for the second suspect, when the suspect opened fire from a shed, striking one officer, Hill said. That suspect was believed to be barricaded in the shed, surrounded by county police tactical units.

Police closed sections of Belair Road, a busy thoroughfare carrying rush hour traffic into the heart of the city.

 

[BullfrogKen]

WBAL reports police fired tear gas into the shed. There was no response.

Officers entered the shed and found the suspect dead.

 

[TallPine]

So did the officers return fire into the shed, or did the suspect kill himself?

I would have expected the the shed to have about 2000 (incoming) bullet holes in it after the officer was shot

 

[BullfrogKen]

They haven't reported that yet. The story is still unfolding.

 

[BullfrogKen]

Another detail released about an hour ago. . . . A woman in the community was injured by gunfire from this incident. Whether it was the robber's, or from the police, is unclear at this point, or at least unreported.

It was reported as a bruise and small scrape; she declined medical attention.


Anyone who wishes to hear about this, can hear it on line at www.wbal.com. They stream their radio broadcast, and have news updates at the top and bottom of every hour. This incident is getting a LOT of attention. This is the third shooting of a MD police officer in 10 days.


And, Ron Smith, who hosts his talk show from 2 - 6pm EST, is quite good.

 

[carebear]

My first thought on resolving the "shed" standoff is to light the side of the shed opposite the door on fire. Give the shooter a clear decision to make, people like having definitie options to choose from.

My second thought was the shed scene from Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I'm assuming since that didn't happen the officer was on his own when shot.

What's up with this "commit a crime, commit suicide rather than surrender" trend?

It was just armed robbery.

 

[BullfrogKen]

The story doesn't say he killed himself. The reports, as they are developing, state that police returned fire. We probably won't find out for a day or two if this was suicide or he died from the returned fire.

This also escalated from armed robbery to attempted murder on a police officer. I guess you missed the part where he shot, and very nearly killed, the Balt. County K-9 Officer.


Burn the shed down? If it were your shed, would you want it, and everything in it, to go up in flames? I think the tear gas was a good call. Setting it aflame? Are you kidding? With the cop bashing that goes on here sometimes, Lord. I can just see the outcry over on L&P right now. . . "Suspect dies after burning to death as the shed he was hiding in goes up in flames. . . blah, blah . . . reference to Waco . . . yadda, yadda."

Baltimore County Officer Shot And Rushed To Shock Trauma, Suspect Found Dead In A Shed
Thursday, December 14, 2006
WBAL Radio's John Patti


A man suspected of shooting and wounding a Baltimore County police officer minutes after a supermarket robbery in Perry Hall has been found dead inside a shed near the store.

The man was found on the floor of the shed about 11:30 this morning, moments after a police tactical team fired tear gas into the building and roughly four hours after gunfire from the shed wounded 16-year veteran officer David Garner.

Garner has served with the county's police dog section for 12 years and was involved in the search for the suspect in the minutes after the robbery at the Super Fresh store on Bel Air Road in Perry Hall. After he was shot, police directed return fire at the shed.

The physician in chief at Shock Trauma in Baltimore, Doctor Thomas Scalea says Garner was admitted at 8:45 a-m with what he calls a through-and-through injury to his right arm and entry wound in his right chest.

Scalea says a bullet pierced a lung, Garner's diaphragm and liver, fractured some ribs and exited Garner's pelvis.

Scalea says Garner underwent surgery to have his liver repaired and is in the recovery room in "reasonably stable" condition. He is on a ventilator. Police say he was wearing a bullet-proof vest when he was wounded.

Officer David Garner graduated from Perry Hall High School in 1985, and then Towson State University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science.

Officer Garner completed the Baltimore County Police Academy in January 1991, and was assigned to Precinct 3/Garrison from February 1991 until December 1994. He moved to the K-9 Unit in December 1994 where he is currently assigned. Officer Garner was awarded the Precinct 3/Garrison Officer of the Month in January 1992 and May 1993.

He earned a Baltimore County Police Department Certificate of Appreciation in 1994, 1995 and 1996; and the Departmental Unit Citation in 1998 and 2001. Officer Garner won the Departmental Critical Incident Commendation in 2001; and Silver Star in 2001. He received the Pope John Paul Certificate of Appreciation 1995. He received the Chesapeake Search and Rescue Dog Association "Lifeline" Award in 2003 and 2004.

Officer Garner lives with his wife and two daughters in Baltimore.

A second suspect in the robbery was arrested during a foot chase moments after the robbery. Police investigating a series of recent supermarket robberies had been conducting a stake-out outside the store when it was robbed shortly before 7:30 a-m.

Garner's shooting was the third shooting of a police officer in the greater Baltimore area in nine days.

On Monday, Maryland State trooper Eric Workman was shot and critically injured in the Woodlawn area as he and other officers attempted to arrest a suspect in an earlier home invasion and kidnapping.

Last week, Baltimore City police officer Momodu Gondo was shot three times in the back outside as he arrived home in Northeast Baltimore at the end of his shift.

Workman and Gondo are still hospitalized at Shock Trauma.

Scalea commented today on the hospital's handling of the three shootings. He said -- quote -- It's emotionally very difficult for me and my staff when the phone rings to put all that aside and do your job...otherwise people don't get the best medical care. I'm getting kind of tired of this" -- unquote.

Schools Placed In Lockdown

In the wake of this incident, Baltimore County officials placed Perry Hall High School, Middle School and Elementary School were placed in lockdown. Tabernacle Christian School in perry Hall closed today as a precaution.

 

[carebear]

Ken,

I wasn't clear, my apologies.

The shed burning, as I hoped would be shown by the "wink" and the joke about choices, wasn't serious.

The first news article posted didn't mention the police returning fire, just that they had it surrounded.

Anyway, I did see the shooting of the officer and I wasn't dismissing it. What I was getting at wasn't this incident in particular but a thought this incident brought to mind.

My question was why are these guys going this far at all? It's an armed robbery beef (originally) and they get caught. Instead of surrendering and doing the (comparatively) minor time, they then shoot a cop or take a hostage and barracade up and then, more and more it seems, kill themselves.

If they are going to go all the way to murder (attempted) or kidnapping, why not go the whole way and go out in a blaze of gunfire? Instead, they commit a crime, then another, more heinous act (which demonstrates a willingness to go further to hurt folks) and then, at the cusp of taking things to their logical conclusion, kill themselves. If they weren't going to go all the way, why don't they just surrender and live? Why start down that road in the first place?

Obviously them killing themselves is far better than hurting any other people or making an officer do it, but the mentality of "go, go, then suicide" seems even more illogical than the normal criminal idiocy. And it may just be media, but it seems almost common (proportionately) now when it gets to barricaded subject situations, and I don't recall it at all in my childhood.

 

[BullfrogKen]

I understand. No problem.

Start a commentary on criminals committing suicide when caught on another thread. I would like to see to discussed the pertinent points of this story here.

Of several:

• The K-9 officer wore a vest. He still suffered very traumatic injuries when he was shot.
• Customers in the store were not aware it was in the process of being robbed.
• Before we pill upon the "sheeple" <I hate that term>, notice that the officers in the parking lot assigned to specifically watch for the robbery after the tip that morning failed to notice it, too. I've been following the story on the radio all day; an employee ran out and alerted them to the robbery in progress.
• A woman in the neighborhood was injured during the exchange of gunfire.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Glad the officer seems to be ok.
For some reason what immediately popped into my mind was the scene from Young Guns where Buckshot Roberts is holed up in the outhouse and they ventilate it after he shoots Dick in the chest.

 

[carebear]

The K-9 officer wore a vest. He still suffered very traumatic injuries when he was shot.

The physician in chief at Shock Trauma in Baltimore, Doctor Thomas Scalea says Garner was admitted at 8:45 a-m with what he calls a through-and-through injury to his right arm and entry wound in his right chest.

Scalea says a bullet pierced a lung, Garner's diaphragm and liver, fractured some ribs and exited Garner's pelvis.

Obvious questions:

Did the bullet penetrate the vest or was there a gap on the right side (right chest entry)? If it penetrated, what was he shot with?

If you get hit in a gap, the vest becomes meaningless.

The path of the bullet seems "downward" through the body. What was his position when shot? Was he upright and the bullet deflected downward from hitting the rib(s)? Did it go on to then go through the bones of the pelvis? If so, that's a tough bullet.

Customers in the store were not aware it was in the process of being robbed.
Before we pill upon the "sheeple" <I hate that term>, notice that the officers in the parking lot assigned to specifically watch for the robbery after the tip that morning failed to notice it, too. I've been following the story on the radio all day; an employee ran out and alerted them to the robbery in progress.

Assuming the robbers first words were "don't scream", or something similar, I can see how anyone not at the checkout counter might not notice. I believe that's common.

Were the police outside actively observing the actual till (assuming that was the robbery point)? If not, I can see robbers acting normally on entering and waiting yuntil the till area was fairly empty before walking up. It's pretty subtle to say "gimme the money" quietly and lifting a shirt to show a gun. Hard to see from a distance without a visible reaction from someone closer.

I'm picturing the robbers exiting, the clerk coming out yelling, the police moving on the suspects (before they can get in their car) and a parking lot patron taking what sounds like a richochet from the damage in the first exchange. Then the perps run and are pursued, one is caught, one hides until found by Officer Garner (and his canine?) and the shooting occurs.

Did Officer Garner have his dog? Was it tracking? Did it alert on the shed? Was he shot at from ambush without the perp actually being discovered, or as he moved to check out the shed or put in the dog?

 

[BullfrogKen]

Many of these questions are unanswerable at this point. The officer himself is on a ventilator, and I'm sure all efforts right now are focused on keeping him alive. You can find out all I know from this website at WBAL, and the news audio links of updates throughout the day.


WBAL article and audio links

I particularly like Thomas Scalea's comments. He's had a rough week and a half, saving 3 officer's lives. All them were treated at MD Shock Trauma, and are under his care.

Apparrently, from the audio, he was using the dog to search for the suspect. The shots weren't fired in the parking lot, they occurred in the adjacent neighborhood, and that is how the woman received her injuries.

 

[Andras]

One of the other officers shot recently was an old school friend of mine, we also played Little League baseball together.

BALTIMORE -- Wounded state Trooper Eric D. Workman was sitting up and answering questions from family members yesterday, a day after he was shot during a raid, the trooper's father said.
"He looks good, his color is good. They say he's well ahead of what they expected," said Trooper Workman's father, Gary D. Workman, a former Secret Service agent.
Mr. Workman spoke with reporters outside the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where his son is recuperating.
He said Trooper Workman can answer "yes and no, but it's difficult for him to talk because there are a lot of tubes."
The shooting is the second major hospitalization for the state trooper in the past eight years; in 1998, he was hit by a vehicle during a traffic detail in Prince George's County and severely injured. Despite the two incidents, Mr. Workman said, his son always wanted to be a police officer and he would support the trooper if he wanted to return to duty.
"It's just something he always wanted to do and I support him. If he's physically able after this, he should go back," Mr. Workman said.
Trooper Workman, who lives in Catonsville, spent time at his father's place in West Virginia during his last recuperation, fishing at times at a lake on the property, and his father said he expected to see him there again.
Asked whether family members had talked about the two incidents and his ability to recover, Mr. Workman said his son is tough, but "we don't want to test those nine lives, we definitely don't. This is enough, but I'll support him if he goes back."
Trooper Workman, who was wearing a ballistic vest, was shot after he and other officers entered a home seeking a suspect in a home invasion. State police said Steven T. Jones, 38, appeared at the top of a stairway and opened fire before he was killed by return fire.
Trooper Workman was hit in the left armpit, and the bullet traveled through his left chest and into his abdomen, damaging his left kidney, left lung and the left side of his spleen, hospital officials said.
Jones' father said his son had been living at his Woodlawn, Md., home since his release from prison in August.
Michael Rock told the Baltimore Sun that he answered his door early Tuesday and let in about six police officers, who walked upstairs toward his son's room. Gunfire quickly erupted, leaving his son dead.
"Upstairs sounded like a war in Vietnam," Mr. Rock said.
The gunbattle left six bullet holes at the top of a staircase, two more nearby and a blood-soaked carpet.
Police said officers were trying to arrest a man who had fled an Eldersburg home last Thursday after a home invasion.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20061213-104920-1920r.htm

 

[AK-74me]

One of the other officers shot recently was an old school friend of mine, we also played Little League baseball together.

I'm in SOMD too, did you two grow up down here or in the B-more area?