Korryn Gaines, 23, was shot and killed Monday morning by Baltimore County police officers in Randallstown, Maryland, after confronting them with a gun. Officers were at Gaines’ apartment to deliver an arrest warrant for failing to appear on disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and traffic violations, and had an additional warrant for an unidentified man who also lived at the apartment. Police say when they arrived at the apartment around 9:20 AM, no one would answer the door, although voices could be heard inside.
Officers then gained entry into the apartment by using a key provided by the landlord. That’s when they say that a man attempted to flee with a 1-year-old child but was apprehended. They also say that Gaines was seated on the floor of the apartment with a little boy, said by relatives to be her 5-year-old son, and a “long gun” which she pointed at the officers. The officers backed away from the door and called for backup. Tactical officers then arrived and began the hours-long standoff.
"If you don't leave, I'm going to kill you," she allegedly told police.
An officer then opened fire and shot Gaines, who fired back. She was hit several times and pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were wounded.
It's not known if the officers were wearing body cameras during the shooting, police said.
The shooting sparked outrage among Gaines’ friends and relatives who said videos linked to the shooting victim's Facebook page apparently vanished from her profile.
A video taken of footage posted around 1 p.m. on Gaines' profile later surfaced in a comment thread showing a young boy sitting on the floor with the caption, "My son is not a hostage."
The gunfire erupted around 3 PM. Gaines’ 5-year-old son was hit during the exchange, but was treated at a nearby hospital.
One could simply acknowledge this as the tragedy it is and move on. However, in this day and time, more and more questions about how police operate in similar situations are being asked—and rightly so. Anyone, police officer or not, should take a possible threat to their lives seriously. And yet we know of several cases where actual threats to police officers’ lives were not met with deadly force. The question of officer discretion (or the lack thereof) in situations involving black people is a legitimate one.
It awaits a legitimate answer.