A lone male gunman exchanged fire Thursday afternoon with Baltimore County Police officers in the parking lot of their Wilkens precinct in what officials say was a premeditated act.
Police say the shooting suspect walked into the public precinct in Catonsville around 2:30 p.m. and spoke with front desk personnel in the building, according to Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough.
The armed man then walked out of the building and around the side of the precinct near the gas pumps and began talking with an officer, McCullough said.
He then waved a handgun at the officer, McCullough said, and began firing several rounds at the police.
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McCullough said this happened during a shift change, so other officers were nearby and immediately shot at the suspect.
The suspect and other officers exchanged gunfire, McCullough said. Both an officer and the suspect were hit.
“It was very clear that this was premeditated,” McCullough said.
The department is investigating the suspect’s motive. Officials did not identify the suspect, but said he has a limited criminal background.
The officer was transported to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center with a gunshot wound to his torso, according to Dr. Thomas Scalea, who performed surgery on him.
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Scalea said ”he is in guarded condition under very close observation and will stay there certainly overnight.”
The suspect, who has not been identified, was hit on his lower body and transported to a hospital in the area. He is in stable condition, McCullough said.
The shooting sparked a massive investigation as officers flooded the 900 block of Walker Avenue.
Officers redirected traffic as parts of Walker Avenue were blocked off following reports of a shooting at the southwest Baltimore County precinct, which was immediately surrounded by yellow tape.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which is nearby, said on its website a shooting had been reported at the Wilkens Police Precinct and that a suspect was in custody.
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“We are not in lockdown. The shooting occurred at the Baltimore County Police station on Walker Avenue near campus, not on it,” a spokesperson for UMBC told The Banner. “Our current information is that the suspect is in custody but the public is advised to avoid the area due to continued police investigative activity.”
UMBC Police blocked off Parking Lot 21 on the campus, which is near the precinct, following reports of the shooting.
The sound of a helicopter thundered over the UMBC’s quiet campus on the bright and sunny afternoon as students strolled with headphones in their ears, notebooks in their hands and several questions for campus police — who responded that they couldn’t answer them.
The police activity also prompted road closures in the area.
County Police set up a media staging area at the trauma center, where the injured officer underwent surgery.
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Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier, who joined law enforcement at the trauma center for a media briefing, described it as “a dark day.”
A strong presence of Baltimore County Police vehicles with their lights on were parked across the street from the entrance of the trauma center, as city and county police officers stood outside and directed traffic.
In the Maryland House of Delegates on Thursday night, Del. Eric Ebersole asked fellow lawmakers to keep the injured officer — “one of our finest men in blue” — in their thoughts.
“If you could think of him, please, we would all be grateful,” said Ebersole, a Democrat who leads the county’s delegation in Annapolis.
The Baltimore Police Department offered prayers for the injured officer.
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Banner reporters Ellie Wolfe and Pamela Wood contributed to this report.
This story has been updated.
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