A Baltimore police detective was injured, and a suspect died Friday night following a shooting incident in South Baltimore. Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley reported that the detective, whose life was saved by his protective vest, was shot around 10:25 p.m. in the 3400 block of South Hanover Street in Brooklyn.

Several officers were investigating a call from a few days prior, where an individual had fired multiple rounds at victims, although no one was hit at that time. The officers were conversing with a person they believed to be the suspect, who was seated on steps when the individual suddenly stood up, drew a weapon, and an exchange of gunfire ensued.

“We don’t know who fired first,” said Commissioner Worley. The suspect had plenty of chances to drop the weapon and cooperate but chose not to. He pointed his weapon at our officers, and they responded as trained.”

The detective, who was shot in the chest, was saved by his protective vest and is expected to be released from the hospital soon. The officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave for ten days, per protocol, and their body-worn camera footage is currently under review. At least three officers were involved in the shooting.

Mayor Brandon Scott expressed gratitude for the officers’ actions. We are extremely thankful and grateful our officer was not severely injured in this incident. We want to thank him and his fellow officers for doing exactly what they should be doing. There’s been a lot of talk about whether our police officers are focused on what they should be focused on. This is what they should’ve been focused on, and they did their job tonight putting themselves at risk because we will continue to focus on people who are recklessly using illegal handguns and shooting at people and will not allow that to be tolerated.