Police said they fatally shot 23-year-old Korryn Gaines on Monday at her Randallstown apartment when she threatened to kill officers and fired at them. A 5-year-old boy in the home was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound but is expected to survive, police said.
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Police had arrived at the apartment to serve Gaines with a “failure to appear” bench warrant stemming from charges filed in a March 10 traffic stop.
At about 3 p.m., the woman again pointed her weapon directly at a tactical officer and said, “If you don’t leave, I’m going to kill you”. When officers were able to open the door using a key, they saw Gaines sitting on the floor pointing a 12-gauge shotgun at one of three officers and a 5-year-old near her.
Baltimore police shot and killed a woman after an hourslong standoff in Randallstown, Md. According to Gaines’ uncle, the boy is her son. She was shot “multiple times” by police and died at the scene.
An officer reportedly then fired at Gaines, who also allegedly returned fire with her own gun.
A search warrant will be sought by police to preserve Gaines’ posted content as evidence.
Police evacuated the building and say officers attempted to negotiate with Gaines. Having just had the shotgun pointed at them a few seconds before, it would have been reasonable to assume that any movement coming through the door was Gaines coming out to attack the out-gunned officers in the hallway.
In that incident, police said Gaines’ vehicle had a cardboard sign on the back of the auto instead of a plate.
Korryn Shandawn Gaines may not be the dumbest suspect to ever tangle with police, but she’s clearly not one of the smartest. Authorities say a man ran from the apartment with a 1-year-old boy and was arrested. Police were also executing a warrant for an unidentified man at the same address wanted for assault.
Police said she refused to co-operate and opened fire when they tried to enter her apartment.
A spokesperson said a body camera programme was being rolled out in the Baltimore County Police service and that she could not say whether the incident had been filmed.
Police said they had successfully petitioned Facebook to temporarily deactivate Gaines’s account as they negotiated with her, after arguing that the filming and responses were making negotiations more risky.
“My niece is a good person; I never knew her to be a rowdy person”, Jerome Barnett said. Gaines was well-known on her social media outlets for being vocal about police brutality and America’s history of institutional racism. Their names will be released 48 hours after the incident, in accordance with the department’s contract with the Fraternal Order of Police.
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This is the county’s third officer-involved shooting so far this year, and the first fatal officer-involved shooting of 2016.
