Man Killed During Shooting Involving Harford County Deputies, Sheriff Says
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A man was fatally shot by at least one Harford County sheriff's deputy in Bel Air, Maryland, on Saturday, according to authorities.
Two deputies were placed on administrative leave after the shooting, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said during a press conference this evening.
It was not immediately clear if one deputy or both of them fired bullets that struck the man.
The shooting happened at a shopping center near Rock Spring Road at Spenceola Parkway around 2:45 p.m., according to authorities.
Deputies initially received a report that a suicidal man with a long gun was in the area, Gahler told reporters.
They had phone conversations with the man and searched for him for about an hour before finding him behind a CVS, he said.
Gahler did not say what prompted the deputies to fire their weapons.
"I hear a car start peeling wheels close by and suddenly I hear five gunshots," one man told WJZ.
A medic took the man to a local hospital, which is where he died, according to authorities.
"It was very shocking," Debbie Walker said.
The Maryland Office of the Attorney General's Independent Investigation Division is required by state law to investigate the shooting.
And while Gahler says the sheriff's office will fully cooperate with the unit, but a spokesperson for the specialized unit says that the sheriff's office has not been turning over evidence.
"The law requires Harford County to cooperate with our office—the independent investigations unit—in these investigations." Raquel Coombs, the director of communications at Maryland Office of the Attorney General, said. "That is not happening at this time. They are not allowing us to collect the evidence."
No deputies were injured during the shooting and there is no threat to the community, according to authorities.
