Frederick County Deputy Involved In Shooting Identified
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Frederick County Sheriff's Office on Monday identified the deputy involved in last week's shooting as Deputy 1st Class Christian Lucente.
Lucente, a five-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office assigned to the agency's patrol division, has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for police shootings.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said Lucente, who was not hurt in the shooting, "is in a good state of mind, and is very confident in his decision to use deadly force during the unfortunate incident."
Last Friday, Lucente shot 28-year-old Lookman-Khalil Abolajo Bello of Hagerstown when he returned fire during a chase that stemmed from an attempted traffic stop on Interstate 270, authorities said.
Authorities said Bello was being stopped for speeding and on suspicion of driving under the influence, but instead of pulling over, he kept going before bailing out of his vehicle and leading Lucente on a foot chase.
At some point, authorities said, Bello opened fire at Lucente, who fired back and struck the 28-year-old with at least three rounds.
Bello was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment of his injuries. At last check, he was listed in stable condition.
The Hagerstown man is charged with first- and second-degree assault, eluding police and several firearm and ammo offenses, deputies said.
Additional details about the shooting, such as how many shots were fired, weren't immediately known. Lucente was not wearing a body camera and a second deputy involved in the chase did not witness the shooting.
In a statement Monday, Sheriff Jenkins expressed confidence that the deputy would return to duty "within a short period of time."
"Deputy Lucente is fully cooperating with all aspects of the investigation, and I have complete confidence that his decision to use deadly force will be determined to be justified after being fired upon by the defendant," Jenkins said.
