Sep 11, 2008 7:16 pm US/Eastern
Man Used Fake Weapon When Threatening Officers
EASTPOINT, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Gunfire in a Baltimore County neighborhood after a man barricaded himself inside a house and then police shot him to death.
CBS
Police have identified the man killed in Wednesday night's officer-involved shooting.
Derek Valcourt reports police say George James Walters, 26, used a replica of a rifle and firecrackers as he threatened officers.
Walters barricaded himself inside the house, while threatening to kill people with a weapon. Police did not know the weapon was fake at the time of the incident.
The deadly sequence of events happened in Eastpoint Wednesday evening. Walters was fatally wounded by officers after a violent tirade in and around his home.
Sky Eye Chopper 13 was above the 8000-block of Gough Street moments after police ended a barricade confrontation with the suspect. The man's girlfriend called 911 after he went into a rage.
"He was acting very irrationally, violently throwing furniture out the windows, smashing property inside with a baseball bat and threatening to kill people," said Bill Toohey, Baltimore County Police spokesperson.
The suspect barricaded himself inside an upstairs bedroom. Officers backed off and called for backup. That's when the Precinct 12 Community Action Team arrived.
Neighbors tell
Eyewitness News the suspect could be seen waving a rifle or a shotgun from a second floor window.
"He was hanging out the window, trying to shoot 'em," said Karen Henninger. "Hanging out the window and he had the gun, tryin' to shoot in the kitchen."
"They heard him up there, shouting, threatening people. They saw him stick what appeared to be a rifle out of the window and pull it again and again," Toohey said. "Seemed to be pointing it at them, so the officers fired and killed him."
The officers involved are on routine administrative leave.
Investigators must wait for an autopsy before determining whether drugs played a role in the suspect's behavior.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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