Maryland officials are investigating after police in Frederick shot and killed a man while serving him an arrest warrant on Saturday, city police say.
Frederick City police chief Jason Lando said the man, who was found hiding in a closet, was shot after allegedly refusing to drop a knife. Maryland State Police and the attorney general’s office are investigating the shooting.
City police arrived at an apartment in the 1500 block of Northeast Street around 6:20 p.m., Lando said, to serve the man an arrest warrant for violating parole or probation.
“When the officers arrived at the scene, a young lady answered the door. Subsequently, the officers entered the apartment to check for the individual,” Lando said during a press conference Saturday evening.
The department said the man was found hiding in an apartment closet and, at some point, he appeared to pull out a knife. Lando told reporters that police fired at the man after giving him multiple commands to drop the knife.
The chief couldn’t confirm how many responding officers fired at the man or additional details about the events leading up to the shooting. The department did not identify any officers as being injured in this incident.
Lando said that responding officers began giving first aid to the man and “did everything they could” to revive the man. The man died at the scene.
The shooting prompted an investigation by the Maryland State Police and Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division — Lando said both agencies were informed by the department moments after the shooting.
“I’m unable to release any other details at this time out of respect not only to the family of the deceased but the investigatory process,” Lando said.
