Mother holding five-year-old son shot dead by police

Aug 2, 2016

A Baltimore woman who was allegedly threatening police officers with a gun was shot dead by police while holding her five-year-old son.

The woman, Korryn Gaines, engaged in an hours-long standoff with police before she was shot and killed. The child was also injured and was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound, but it is not immediately clear whether it was police or Gaines who shot the boy.

According to Police Chief Jim Johnson, police had arrived at the house to serve an arrest warrant for Gaines as well as a man living in the home. The man who lived there allegedly ran from the apartment with a 1-year-old child but was caught by police.

Gaines was wanted for failure to appear for charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and numerous traffic violations. The man was wanted on charges of assault.

After the man was detained, Gaines refused to cooperate with police. The apartment building was evacuated as police began negotiations.

“The armed woman remained inside with the five-year-old boy, and a barricade situation began at about 9.40am and continued throughout the afternoon,” said a police spokesperson.

Gaines, who was armed, at one point leveled her gun at an officer who opened fire and said, “If you don’t leave, I’m going to kill you.”

An officer fired at her, and she allegedly returned fire with two shots before police opened fire again, killing her.

Although police in the area were being given body cameras, not all police officers had received one yet, and a police spokesperson said that there is no available footage for this incident.