A man was shot by police last night during a running gunbattle in Mount Vernon, a downtown area of expensive bars and restaurants.

Agent Angelique Cook-Hayes said undercover officers saw a group of men engaged in suspected drug activity about 9 p.m. near an apartment building in the 900 block of N. Charles St. She said the officers identified themselves and one of the men fled east toward the 900 block of Lovegrove St., then north on Lovegrove.

Several shots were fired at the officers, who returned fire and hit the man at least once, said Cook-Hayes. He was being treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and his identity and condition were unavailable.

Pub Date: 7/28/99