Last Updated Dec 15, 2017 2:55 PM EST
BALTIMORE – Police say a suspect fired randomly from his car during a dramatic Baltimore police chase Friday, striking and wounding two people. An officer also sustained a “significant leg injury” before police were able to stop the car and arrest the 30-year-old suspect.
“This could have been much, much worse,” Baltimore police commissioner Kevin Davis said at a Monday afternoon press conference.
Baltimore Police arrest a suspect following a car chase through city streets Friday
WJZ
Davis and police spokesman T.J. Smith say that before the chase, the suspect was being sought in a triple shooting Thursday night, in which one person died, and another non-fatal shooting last week. An officer who recognized the suspect and the car he was driving pulled the vehicle over late Friday morning in northwest Baltimore. The suspect at first complied, but then opened fire, shooting at but not striking the officer, Davis said. The officer returned fire. No one was struck, and the suspect sped off, beginning the pursuit, Davis said.
As police pursed him, the suspect opened fire from his car apparently at random at people on the street, Davis said. He first struck and wounded a man in the leg, and next fired at two men, but they weren’t struck, according to Smith.
The suspect then shot another man who was in a car, striking him in the upper body and leaving him in “very critical” condition, Smith said. A passenger in the victim’s car wasn’t struck, but went into cardiac arrest.
The suspect’s car sped through traffic lights during the chase, narrowly missing pedestrians and colliding with at least one vehicle as seen in dramatic video captured by a CBS Baltimore news helicopter. The vehicle’s back bumper at one point came unhinged and could be seen dragging behind the car.
A police officer ran to the car when it finally came to a stop at an intersection, the station reports. The officer pulled the driver out and wrestled him to the ground, and he was taken into custody.
The suspect’s name hasn’t been released. No one else was in the car with him, police say. Investigators uncovered two guns, a handgun and an assault-style rifle, which Davis said were likely not obtained legally.
Smith says police are investigating at least a half a dozen crime scenes across the city as well as numerous vehicle accidents that may be related to the chase, which lasted about 20-30 minutes and spanned much of west Baltimore. Smith tweeted that the driver was taken into custody in the 1800 block of Gwynns Falls parkway,
Davis said the suspect “potentially jeaopardized the entire city today due to intentional recklessness with two guns.”
“It’s absolutley insane, absolutely crazy,” Davis said. “What possessed the guy to do this? I have no idea. Obviously he’s someone we want off the streets.”
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