A man who allegedly shot two people in Brooklyn Monday afternoon was in critical condition after being wounded by Baltimore police, officials said.
The man, who was not identified, shot a man and a woman in the legs about 12:25 p.m. at Ninth Street and Patapsco Avenue, about a block from the Hargrove District Court building, according to Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman. Officers arrived at the scene and chased the gunman about three blocks before shooting him in the torso, Monroe said.
Additional circumstances surrounding the shooting were not immediately provided, though Monroe said a weapon was recovered.
"People aren't getting shot with lightning bolts. These guys have guns in their houses, they load their magazines, they play with their guns, and people know it," he said at a news conference. "In this city, where people getting shot in broad daylight, bad guys with guns have to go to jail." Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III visited the scene and implored residents to get angry about gun crime and emphasized the need for gun offenders to get jail time.
He also praised city officers for pursuing the armed suspect: "I don't know how much more action you could expect or demand from the law enforcement officers of this city."
Police did not identify the officers, in keeping with a policy enacted this year.
The male and female victims were listed in fair but stable condition at area hospitals, while the suspect was in critical condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, Monroe said.
The suspect is the 22nd person shot by police this year, surpassing last year's total.
On Friday, two males were formally charged in connection with the holdup of a Hampden liquor store that was thwarted by an off-duty police officer who shot one of the suspects and caught the other after a foot chase.
Michael Blake Jr., 20, is accused of pointing a handgun at three employees inside the Hampden Liquor Store on Dec. 4. Off-duty Officer Adam Braskich saw the men and entered the store, ordered them to drop their weapons, and fired his department-issued handgun several times when they did not comply, the records show. Blake was struck and wounded in the upper torso.
Another suspect, Karim Abdul, 16, ran out of the store but was caught by Braskich about six blocks away, records show.
Blake has a prior record of handgun crimes. He pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery in connection with a May 2007 incident, receiving a prison sentence of three years that was suspended. He was placed on three years' probation, and found in violation in January 2009, receiving a year in jail. It was not clear when he was released.
On Oct. 22, he was charged with firearm possession with a felony conviction and drug possession and released on $150,000 bond the next day. Those charges are pending in Baltimore City Circuit Court, with a trial set for February.
Correction: Though Michael Blake Jr., 20, was sentenced to three years of probation in 2007, he was not on probation at the time of the Hampden liquor store holdup, as reported in a previous version of this article, after being earlier found in violation, according to the Department of Parole and Probation. The Baltimore Sun regrets the error.