Nov 18, 2008 1:42 pm US/Eastern
Baltimore Officer Shoots Man After Stabbing
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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A man was shot twice by a Baltimore police officer in East Baltimore.
CBS
A man was shot twice by a Baltimore police officer after police say he stabbed his wife outside a courthouse.
Mike Hellgren reports the violent scene all unfolded at a busy time of day, just as the evening rush hour began.
Minutes after a protective order hearing, Cleaven and Veronica Williams were bleeding in the middle of North Avenue. She was brutally stabbed; he was shot by police.
"I think it was a tragedy. I mean in broad daylight, coming from court?" said neighbor Lumell Mont.
Officials say Veronica appeared in court for the hearing, but Cleaven did not. He confronted her later outside the courthouse.
An off-duty police officer, still in uniform and driving his car, says he saw Cleaven on top of Veronica, stabbing her. The officer intercepted.
"I heard a horn blowing and I didn't know what that was. Then I heard two gunshots. When I came up the street, I see the lady on the ground," said Jane Patterson.
"It's sad, you know. It's sad. I hope the lady will make it out. She was really hurt bad. Her face was all bleeding. Her mouth was all bleeding," said Said Prast, who owns New York Fried Chicken.
The officer first pulled out his Taser.
"When he used the Taser and it didn't work to any avail, the suspect raised up with the knife and came toward the officer," said Troy Harris, Baltimore City Police spokesperson.
The officer shot the suspect at least twice.
A crime scene is nothing new in this neighborhood. People
Eyewitness News spoke to say when they heard the gunshots, they didn't even rush out to see what was going on. It's a typical sound here.
"The neighborhood is getting rough. It's getting real terrible around here," said Freddy Bonds.
"You can get robbed walking to the corner store to get chicken or getting a pack of sunflower seeds. It's terrible around here. I'm sorry to say it, but it is. They need more police presence," Mont said.
Veronica Williams had filed a complaint against her husband last week for assault when police were called to their house for a domestic dispute.
She's in critical but stable condition. Her husband is stable and is being watched by guards at the hospital. The couple has three children.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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