Two men shot and critically wounded a Baltimore police officer early Thursday morning before they went on to kill a man two hours later, authorities said Friday. Police announced that the men have been arrested and charged with attempted murder in what the city’s commissioner called an ambush on the officer and murder in the subsequent slaying.
Wp Get the full experience.Choose your plan ArrowRight
On Thursday around 1:30 a.m., Baltimore Officer Keona Holley — a 39-year-old, two-year veteran of the department — was on duty in a marked police car in the 4400 block of Pennington Avenue when a person approached from behind and began firing. Police found Holley gravely injured after her vehicle rolled away from the scene of the shooting and crashed nearby.
At a news conference Friday, Commissioner Michael S. Harrison said two men — 31-year-old Elliot Knox and 32-year-old Travon Shaw — shot Holley before fatally a shooting another victim, 38-year-old Justin Johnson, in the 600 block of Lucia Avenue.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Harrison said police arrested the men after canvassing and a review of video surveillance footage led them to a vehicle of interest. Two weapons were recovered in a Baltimore County home, Harrison said, and one has been linked to Holley’s shooting.
Both men have criminal histories in more than one jurisdiction and knew Johnson, Harrison said. Police do not know whether the men know Holley, who remains in critical but stable condition. The motive in the shootings has not been established, Harrison said.
“We don’t know why they did this,” he said. “We have absolute confessions that they did it — they were there.”
Online court records did not list attorneys for Knox and Shaw in the case.
Story continues below advertisement
Baltimore police officer on life support after apparent ambush, commissioner says
The brazen shooting of a uniformed officer provoked outrage as Baltimore prepares to record more than 300 homicides for the seventh year in a row. Community and police relations have remained fraught since riots erupted in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, and violence in the city has increased in recent years.
Advertisement
In November, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) called for the institution of immediate tough-on-crime measures following several high-profile homicides.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) said at Friday’s news conference that, despite the cavalcade of killings, he takes “every single one of them personally.”
“There are people in our city who don’t care about the police,” he said. “They don’t care about going to jail. … We have to get folks committing violence out of our community.”
Story continues below advertisement
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who has declined to prosecute minor crimes like public urination, defended her decision at Friday’s news conference, saying there was no connection between such offenses and a shooting of a police officer.
“Anybody that draws that correlation … it’s illogical, it’s irrational,” she said.
Holley was featured in a Business Insider story profiling Baltimore police’s de-escalation training efforts in April.
Advertisement
“Our crime level is so high, our homeless level is so high,” she said. “The community needs Baltimore City police officers that’s not just here for a paycheck. They’re here because they care.”
At a news conference Thursday, Holley’s sister said the officer was a mother and asked anyone with knowledge of the shooting to come forward “if you have an honest, decent, empathetic bone in your body.”
Harrison said the shooting was “another tragic reminder of the culture of violence that pervades Baltimore.”
“Those who commit violent, brazen, cowardly acts in our city will be held to account,” he said.