A knife-wielding man at a child's birthday party was shot and killed Saturday night by a police officer in Southwest Baltimore.
The officer was identified as Donald Gaff, 30, who is assigned to the Neighborhood Patrol Bureau. It was Gaff's first shooting, a department spokesman said. The victim was not identified.
It was the second officer-involved shooting in two days, the third in the past month. Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez told reporters at the scene that the officer had "courageously" confronted the man and was in the "right place at the right time."
"I think it's safe to say that through the officer's quick actions and the fact that the officer was deployed here and was able to quickly respond, this scene could've been a lot different," Rodriguez said.
The officer, who was not identified but who Rodriguez said only had about two years' experience on the force, was on routine patrol about 8:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of McHenry St. when someone from the home — where a 3-year-old's birthday party was taking place — flagged him down.
The officer was told that the man with the knife was threatening to stab people, Rodriguez said. He did not comply with orders to drop the knife, and was shot once in the upper chest. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"This is a traumatic incident for anyone, but for someone on the job just two years, this shakes you up," Rodriguez said.
On Thursday, another officer with about two years on the force was involved in a shooting in Northwest Baltimore. Just moments before Saturday night's shooting, police identified that officer as Angel Richardson, 32.
City records show that Richardson was previously a firefighter/paramedic with the Baltimore Fire Department for about nine years.
Police commanders said at a news conference Friday that Richardson feared for her life when she shot the unidentified man during a struggle Thursday night in the 4300 block of Pimlico Road. The man is in a hospital and has not yet been charged.
Officers had attempted to pull over a van with its headlights off on Reisterstown Road when the driver fled and crashed near a senior center on Pimlico Road. Two occupants jumped out of the vehicle and ran — a juvenile was arrested without incident.
Richardson caught up the other suspect, who began to resist and may have "turned on the officer," Rodriguez said. He said she felt overpowered and had no choice but to shoot the man, who was found wounded on a porch of a home nearby.
"An officer is allowed as a last resort to defend themselves, their partner or the community," Rodriguez told reporters.