WASHINGTON — A man has died after he was shot by a Montgomery County police officer Monday afternoon in Silver Spring, Maryland, police said.
A day after the shooting, police identified the victim as Robert Lawrence White, 41, of Silver Spring. The officer was also identified Tuesday: Anand Badgujar is a two-year veteran of the department.
“There’s no indication that the man had a weapon,” Montgomery County police Chief Tom Manger said at a news conference Monday night when asked if the victim was armed.
Around 2:15 p.m. Monday, the officer was in the area after finishing a response to another call for service when he came across an African-American man in the 9200 block of Three Oaks Drive, Manger said.
The officer tried to speak with the man, Manger said, but “the man became combative, and a physical altercation occurred.”
The man was shot multiple times, Manger said, and he died after he was taken to the hospital.
Badgujar was not injured in the shooting and has been placed on administrative leave.
It’s still unclear what the confrontation was about or why Badgujar wanted to speak with White.
Witnesses saw the confrontation between the officer and the man, and saw the shooting. The officer had activated his body-worn camera and that footage is being reviewed, Manger said.
High school student Ella Robinson said that she heard multiple gun shots from her home.
Neighbors said the officer struggled with the man before shooting, and Robinson recounted neighbors seeing the man and officer walking around the neighborhood and arguing loudly.
Rebecca Henry, who was also at home during the shooting but did not see it happen first hand, described the neighborhood as “super safe.”
“It is so safe. Things don’t get stolen, nothing,” she told WTOP.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report from Silver Spring.
