A Maryland police officer fatally shot a teenager who was allegedly wielding what turned out to be an airsoft gun and a knife.
The shooting, which killed 16-year-old Peyton Ham of Leonardtown, Maryland, occurred Tuesday afternoon, according to Maryland State Police.
Dispatchers received a call from an individual who said there was a suspicious person whom he thought had a firearm, but the two sides got disconnected before the man could share his location. Two minutes later, another person called 911 to report the same thing.
Minutes later, the unnamed officer, who is on administrative leave pending an investigation, arrived on the scene where Ham allegedly had an airsoft gun and a knife. A witness, according to police, said they saw him standing in “a shooting stance” while “pointing a gun at the trooper,” which is when he shot the teenager.
Another witness said Ham pulled out a knife and tried to get up after getting shot.
The officer, who did not get hurt in the incident, ordered him to drop the knife before the officer fired a second time. Upon a closer evaluation, the gun is “an airsoft gun that is a close representation of an actual handgun,” according to crime scene technicians, and a knife was discovered at the scene.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore will conduct an autopsy. The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit is conducting a criminal investigation. Both the officer and the deceased are white, according to the Associated Press.
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In Minnesota, Officer Kimberly Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, was charged with second-degree manslaughter Wednesday.
She fatally shot Daunte Wright, 20, on Sunday. He was pulled over for a traffic violation when a background check turned up a warrant out for his arrest. Wright was able to slip back into the driver’s door, which is when Potter shot him.
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon, who has since resigned, said Monday that the body camera footage makes him think this was an “accidental shooting” in which the officer meant to fire her Taser and not her firearm.
The body camera footage shows the struggle, in which Porter shouted, “I’ll tase you! I’ll tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” Moments later, Potter is heard saying, “Holy s—. I shot him.”
Wright’s death occurred close to where George Floyd died in police custody on May 25, 2020. The former officer allegedly responsible for his death, Derek Chauvin, is on trial facing charges of third-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter. On Wednesday, the judge rejected a motion from the defense to acquit him.
