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Police Shoot, Kill Man Holding Woman At Knife Point In East Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) --  Baltimore City Police are investigating after at least one officer shot and killed a man who they said was threatening a woman with a knife in East Baltimore Sunday morning.

Officers responded to the 1800 block of East Lafayette Street around 10:39 a.m. after a family member called police and said the suspect was inside the home holding his mother at knife point.

According to BPD Commissioner Michael Harrison, the officers entered the open door of the house and went up to the second floor of the house where they found the suspect armed with a knife, holding it to the woman's body. Officers tried to deescalate the situation, asking the suspect to drop the knife and let the woman go, but the suspect refused, Harrison said.

"These officers repeatedly went into their de-escalation techniques," Harrison said.

At some point, the suspect grabbed the woman by the hair. That's when both fired shots at the suspect, Harrison said. The man was pronounced dead on scene after officers rendered aid to him, police say.

The woman was not injured.

"I want to thank the officers for doing what they were trained to do and trying to make sure we didn't have to have this incident happen the way it did," Mayor Brandon Scott said. "They did exactly what we want them to do—to try to preserve life at all costs, but we also know we can not let allow people to harm people."

Harrison said he will review body camera footage of the shooting and BPD's Special Investigations Response Team (SIRT) is investigating.

It's the second police-involved shooting in the city's Eastern District in the past four days. On Thursday night, Commissioner Harrison said a city officer shot a robbery suspect in the shoulder after that suspect hit an officer with his car on East Biddle Street. Both shootings were captured on body-worn camera. Neither has yet been released to the public.

"Certainly, we have a family that's distraught, and we're doing everything we can to provide services to them," Harrison said.

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