Police responded to a report of a suspicious situation in White Oak in which the caller stated that a man appeared to be on drugs or “had something wrong with him,” police said. An officer encountered Ali in a stairwell but he did not respond to her questions. Police said Ali resisted the officer’s attempts to escort him down the stairs of an apartment building and a struggle began. A witness called 911 to say the officer needed help.

A second officer arrived and police used a stun gun and pepper spray to subdue him.

County fire and rescue personnel examined Ali, but he soon stopped breathing and was transported to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was in critical condition until he died about 3 a.m. Thursday.

FBI investigating powder sent to 2 D.C. schools

The FBI is investigating letters with white powder sent to two schools in Northwest Washington.

The suspicious letters were sent to Bancroft Elementary near Rock Creek Park on Wednesday and Adams Elementary in Columbia Heights on Thursday. Hazardous materials units responded to both schools but none of the letters contained dangerous material, officials said. The schools were not evacuated and no one became sick, said fire department spokesman Pete Piringer.

Similar incidents have happened in Houston and elsewhere over the past week. The letters have been sent to an FBI lab and investigators are trying to determine if the letters are linked to schools in other cities.

— Compiled by Scott McCabe