Baltimore police officer survives shot in the chest

A Baltimore police detective survived a gunshot wound to the chest on Friday and a man was killed in a shootout with police.

The shooting occurred in the 3400 block of South Hanover Street in the Fairfield neighborhood of South Baltimore.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Baltimore Police Chief Richard Worley said officers investigated a call from earlier in the week between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. He said a man fired at least 15 shots at people but did not hit them.

He said police were questioning a man when he suddenly stood up, pulled out a gun and pointed it at officers, repeatedly refusing to drop the weapon.

“The officers did a phenomenal job,” Worley said. “Our officers did exactly what they were trained to do, and the man was shot. He had many opportunities to drop the weapon. He could have cooperated.”

Worley said he was not sure who fired first.

The detective, he said, was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

“Fortunately,” Worley said, “his body armor saved his life.”

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said they were “extremely happy and grateful that our officer was not seriously injured in this incident.”

Scott said he and Worley spoke with the detective, who was “in as good a mood as you can be for someone who had just been shot.”

“We want to thank him and his colleagues for doing exactly what they were supposed to do,” Scott said. “They did their jobs tonight and put themselves in harm’s way. Because we’re going to continue to focus on people who recklessly use illegal handguns and shoot people, and we’re not going to allow that to be tolerated.”

The Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office is currently conducting an investigation.

This story will be updated.