The shooting in Baltimore that killed a man and wounded two other adults Saturday night was part of a «mass casualty incident,» the city’s top police leader said.
One person was taken into custody for questioning and police were still trying to determine if the person would be designated a suspect or a victim, authorities said at a news conference Saturday night.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison described a chaotic scene in the city’s Upton community, where ShotSpotter sensors alerted police to gunshots at 6:39 p.m.
He said it appeared that a shooter or possibly more than one armed suspect opened fire, hitting a 43-year-old man standing outside, who was pronounced dead after arriving at a hospital, hitting another man, 65, in the arm and injuring a motorist in a nearby moving vehicle, Harrison said.
«We are here again with another mass casualty incident,» he said.
The vehicle, which was also carrying children ages 2 and 3, struck a pole and came to a stop, the commissioner said. The 23-year-old woman behind the wheel was stabilized at a hospital after authorities initially said she was in critical condition, according to a late-night statement from Baltimore police.
The children suffered head trauma and lacerations in the car accident, according to the statement. The 3-year-old boy was injured in the collision and has been stabilized at a hospital, police said. The 2-year-old boy, also injured in the accident, was stabilized in critical condition, they said.
Police initially believed the 2-year-old boy had been shot in the face, but overnight they said the boy was injured solely in the car accident.
In their overnight statement, Baltimore police said the vehicle apparently crashed «when the driver was shot.»
«What we believe happened was that, at some point, a gunman or gunmen opened fire,» Harrison said earlier in the evening. «We don’t know if the intended target was the people in the vehicle or the people on the sidewalk.»
The reason behind the shooting still appeared to be unknown. “We see it all the time and we know it’s not for nothing,” said Mayor Brandon Scott.
Police pleaded with potential friends, family members and witnesses with facts about the attack to come forward.
«It’s time we stopped acting like this,» Scott said at the news conference. «We can be better. It’s up to us. This isn’t up to anyone else. It’s not up to the police to make us better for ourselves. We can do that.»