thedrifter
07-24-07, 06:21 AM
Cpl. shot dead after firing on Baltimore police
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 23, 2007 16:10:12 EDT
BALTIMORE — An Army soldier was shot and killed by a city police officer after he pulled a .50-caliber handgun and opened fire on the officer early Sunday morning, police said.
Cpl. Alexander E. Larkin, 25, who was stationed at Fort Meade, had been club-hopping in a popular nightlife district before the gunfight with Officer Jared Stern in a parking garage shortly before 2 a.m., said Officer Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman.
Stern was working department-sanctioned overtime in uniform as a security guard in the parking garage. He came upon an altercation between two men, and two other men, including Larkin, appeared poised to get involved, Monroe said.
Stern tried to break up the fight and used chemical spray on the men. That’s when Larkin pulled a .50-caliber semiautomatic Desert Eagle handgun and opened fire, Monroe said.
“It’s a very big gun,” Monroe said. She did not know whether Larkin had the proper permits to carry the weapon but said it was not a military-issued sidearm.
Stern was not hit. He returned fire and struck Larkin several times. Larkin was pronounced dead at the scene, Monroe said.
Detectives were awaiting the results of toxicology tests to determine whether alcohol was a factor, Monroe said. The three other men involved in the fight were taken in for questioning.
Stern, 25, who joined the department in March 2006, was placed on routine administrative leave. He normally works in the Western District, but officers routinely work security jobs in uniform around the nightclub district called Power Plant Live, Monroe said.
Spokeswomen for Fort Meade did not immediately return calls seeking comment, but base officials told WMAR-TV that Larkin worked in a military intelligence unit.
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 23, 2007 16:10:12 EDT
BALTIMORE — An Army soldier was shot and killed by a city police officer after he pulled a .50-caliber handgun and opened fire on the officer early Sunday morning, police said.
Cpl. Alexander E. Larkin, 25, who was stationed at Fort Meade, had been club-hopping in a popular nightlife district before the gunfight with Officer Jared Stern in a parking garage shortly before 2 a.m., said Officer Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman.
Stern was working department-sanctioned overtime in uniform as a security guard in the parking garage. He came upon an altercation between two men, and two other men, including Larkin, appeared poised to get involved, Monroe said.
Stern tried to break up the fight and used chemical spray on the men. That’s when Larkin pulled a .50-caliber semiautomatic Desert Eagle handgun and opened fire, Monroe said.
“It’s a very big gun,” Monroe said. She did not know whether Larkin had the proper permits to carry the weapon but said it was not a military-issued sidearm.
Stern was not hit. He returned fire and struck Larkin several times. Larkin was pronounced dead at the scene, Monroe said.
Detectives were awaiting the results of toxicology tests to determine whether alcohol was a factor, Monroe said. The three other men involved in the fight were taken in for questioning.
Stern, 25, who joined the department in March 2006, was placed on routine administrative leave. He normally works in the Western District, but officers routinely work security jobs in uniform around the nightclub district called Power Plant Live, Monroe said.
Spokeswomen for Fort Meade did not immediately return calls seeking comment, but base officials told WMAR-TV that Larkin worked in a military intelligence unit.
Ellie