Man Charged With Shooting Baltimore Officer

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A wild shootout on a crowded Baltimore street sent a city officer to the hospital.  Weijia Jiang has the latest on that officer's condition.

Both the victim and the suspect are recovering and in stable condition. 

Police say 30-year-old Franklin Gross is the man who brazenly shot a 24-year-old city officer in uniform, which set off a wild gun fight at the intersection of North Calvert and Baltimore streets.  Investigators say he then fled and fired again at responding officers.  More than 20 shots were exchanged.

The battle unfolded Saturday morning at 1 a.m., just before bars were closing up for the night.

"You always hear how a bullet can go against a building and hit somebody.  This isn't the Wild West, you know," said Carol Laucht.

"You was getting people caught up in the middle of it," said one resident, who asked not to be identified.

Despite some concerns from the public, Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld says the officers in the shootout acted appropriately.  They are members of the tactical unit.

"Among the most highly trained and skilled officers on the police force so I have a great degree of confidence in their actions," Bealefeld said.

Gross was the only person they wounded.  Police say the officer who was shot--identified as Todd Strohman--first confronted Gross because he appeared to be armed.

Court records reveal his extensive criminal history, which includes three felony convictions for assault, possessing a handgun and armed robbery.  Gross was out on parole.

Authorities also arrested two men they say were in the car Gross used to escape after the shootout.  It smashed into a Franklin Street light pole. 

Police found him at a nearby hospital. 

Gross faces multiple charges, including attempted murder.  He will be formally charged when he gets out of the hospital, where he is in police custody.  Officer Strohman is expected to make a full recovery.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake also supports the officers' actions but a routine internal investigation into the shootout is underway.