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Man Fatally Shot By Police After Breaking Into Home, Attacking Officers

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A suspect is dead and two officers are injured, after a violent home invasion in Elkridge. Three children were inside the home at the time. Devin Bartolotta has new details about the suspect and his background.

Police believe the man who broke in was violating a protective order, but now WJZ has learned -- it's not the first time. According to police, the wife of the now-dead suspect says her estranged husband was high on PCP during the attack.

Gunshots rang out Saturday morning on a quiet stretch of road in Howard County. Around 8:52 a.m., officers responded to 6300 block of Woodland Forest Drive for a domestic incident in Elkridge. A woman had called 911, panicked, as her estranged husband broke into her home by shattering a glass sliding door.
"On the phone to the dispatcher, the woman who was calling stated that she believed her husband was high on PCP and he was attempting to break into the home," says Lori Boone, with Howard County Police.
 Terrified, and with three kids inside the house, the woman screamed for help, and then dropped the phone. That's when officers interrupted the break-in.

"The suspect engaged them in a violent encounter, where he strangled one officer and struggled with two others before he was shot," says Boone.

The suspect, who died at the scene, has been identified as 41-year-old William Tucker Mathis.

 He has a history of violence, found guilty of violating an order for protection on October 1, and then on October 8, 2016. Court records show Mathis' probation ended last month. Police say Matthis has been charged over five times in six months for violating protective orders.
"Well, it's very tragic you know," says neighbor Sharfat Ali.
"It's really a surprise, a big shock to me to hear that, that something happened like that," says Ali.
Now, a neighborhood is shaken and two officers are recovering after the brazen attack that ended Mathis' life.The mother and three kids inside the home were not hurt. The two officers attacked were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. There is no video of the encounter, as Howard County Police do not wear body cameras.
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