14 DAY TRIAL // A police officer was fatally shot on the job in Maryland, prompting a law enforcement response that ended with several people getting arrested.
36-year-old officer Jason Schneider was serving an arrest warrant at a home in Catonsville when he was shot.
According to WBALTV, he was part of a tactical unit that entered the home on Roberts Avenue near Winters Lane. The incident took place at 5 a.m. on Wednesday.
He was searching the house for a 16-year-old boy suspected in a shooting on August 21. When he turned a corner, he was shot by 25-year-old Tevon Smith. The wounds were fatal but, before he passed away, he fired back at the suspect.
Smith also died in the hospital on Wednesday. A second policeman opening fire is currently on administrative leave, a routine procedure that follows a deadly incident involving police.
The operation was preceded by "an extensive tactical briefing and much planning," Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson describes for the Baltimore Sun.
"This is a terrible loss for Baltimore County," he says.
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz held a press conference to document the loss of the police force veteran.
"Officer Schneider was killed in the line of duty, and we deeply mourn his loss. [...] I can only tell you that we don't always appreciate what our police do for us every day, but it's times like this when we know how grateful we are for their bravery and their sacrifice," Kamenetz notes.
Police have taken several people from the house in custody after the shooting incident. Residents report that the people living in the house are causing a lot of trouble in the neighborhood. This is the fourth shooting in that area in a few weeks.
"There's been a lot of problems here lately, and it seems like it's coming from this one house," one neighbor informs.