A high speed police chase in West Baltimore, MD ended peacefully after the gunman’s girlfriend ran to the car, bear hugged him and pulled him out of the car. The chaotic scene was captured by a television news helicopter.
The 30-year-old gunman, who shot three people in West Baltimore on Thursday night, drove erratically while firing a high-powered weapon at pursuing police officers on Friday.
Police pulled over the driver of the silver Lexus Friday morning. They were searching for the vehicle in connection with a triple shooting late Thursday.
But the gunman refused to give up and sped off. As he drove he fired a weapon through the driver side window at pursuing officers.
“When officers first encountered him, he was compliant and they were able to approach the vehicle. Then the occupant took off,” police spokesman T.J. Smith told The Baltimore Sun.
During the chase, which was televised live on all news stations, the gunman was in communication with his girlfriend who told him to meet her across from the Mondawmin Mall in West Baltimore.
When he pulled up outside the mall, the unidentified woman dashed over to the car, bear hugged the gunman and dragged him from the vehicle, which rolled away and hit a curb.
“Girlfriend likely knows he’s coming to intersection, runs to car and pulls him out,” Smith tweeted. “Officers then quickly move in and arrest suspect.”
“If we would have let this guy go, just imagine the damage and the destruction of life that would have ensued,” Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said. “I’m just glad he’s in a pair of handcuffs.”
