TAKOMA PARK, Md. (AP) – Authorities say that two people are dead in Maryland after an off-duty Pentagon Force Protection Agency officer fired his gun at the scene of an attempted car break-in.
The Washington Post reports that the incident occurred Wednesday morning in Takoma Park.
Takoma Park police said officers responded to “multiple reports” of shots fired in a parking lot. The officers arrived and encountered the off-duty police officer. He said he engaged with suspects of a car break-in who failed to follow his direction and attempted to flee.
“The suspects attempted to flee in a vehicle at which time the officer discharged his service weapon,” police said.
A short time later, two people with gunshot wounds arrived at a hospital. Both died, police said.
Takoma Park Police spokeswoman Cathy Plevy said the incident remains under investigation. She declined to confirm that the officer’s bullets hit the suspects or whether someone else could have shot them after the encounter.
Pentagon Force Protection Agency spokesman Chris Layman said he could not comment on the officer’s current status or about the shooting.
Katie Stauss, a member of the Silver Spring Justice Coalition, said the police information about the incident is “insufficient and not transparent.”
“If there is more information, it should be shared immediately, including all officer communications, and body and dashcam footage, when they arrived on-scene after the shooting,” Stauss said.