Baltimore County police shot and killed the father of a homicide suspect when he reached for a gun Monday morning as they tried to serve a warrant in his Dundalk house, officials said.
Police declined to identify the man?s son or another suspect already arrested in the death of Joseph Hoffman, 51, whose brother found him dead at his home on Saturday. Officers showed up at Danny Hammonds? home in the 7200 block of Eastern Avenue early Monday morning with the warrant connected to Hoffman?s slaying and fatally shot the 52-year-old father after a confrontation, a police spoksman said.
“The officer [commanded] the man to stop and to drop the weapon,” Cpl. Michael Hill said. When Hammonds refused, he said, a tactical officer “fired several shots, hitting him at least once.”
Hammonds was pronounced dead at the scene, Hill said. Police arrested the man they were looking for and interviewed both suspects Monday, Hill said, searching for a motive in the case. He declined to immediately identify the men, saying they had not yet been formally charged with the killing, or the tactical officer who shot Hammonds.
Hoffman?s brother had stopped by his home in the 200 block of South Woodwell Road at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday to feed his caged birds when he found Hoffman through an open back door, beaten to death inside, police said. The first suspect in Hoffman?s murder was arrested late Sunday at his Dundalk-area home, officials said, and the other man was picked up Monday morning.
