BALTIMORE — An off-duty Baltimore County police officer shot two suspected burglars in his home early yesterday, wounding both, Baltimore City police said.
Police received a call at 7:25 yesterday about a shooting at a house in the 200 block of Evesham Ave. in North Baltimore, near the Baltimore County line. They found two men, each with one gunshot wound, at the home, said police spokesman Donny Moses.
A Baltimore County police officer who lives in the last house on a short block with heavy foliage shot the men after he found them taking items, including a generator, from the first floor, authorities said. One of the victims had a weapon, but police wouldn't say what kind. Moses said it was not a gun.
The officer told city police he had gone downstairs after his wife heard a noise.
"She alerted her husband, who grabbed his revolver and went downstairs to check," Moses said.
Police did not release the officer's name. The suspects were not identified because they had not been charged, Moses said.
One suspect was taken to Sinai Hospital, and the other was taken to Union Memorial Hospital. A tan pickup truck belonging to the suspects was still parked outside the house this morning.
Moses said city detectives interviewed the officer as part of a standard procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting.
The officer has been placed on paid leave, also standard procedure, said Baltimore County police Sgt. Bruce Aris.
The officer's home is located in the Lake Evesham neighborhood, a small community of about 250 single-family homes and two apartment buildings south of Towson. Part of the neighborhood, including the officer's home, runs parallel to Northern Parkway but is separated from the thoroughfare by trees.
Moses said the neighborhood is generally quiet and crime-free and that the officer's home might have been targeted because it looks vacant from the front.
Residents said they generally feel safe in the community, but the area has its share of crime.
Jack Clough, a 37-year-old resident, said Lake Evesham is a nice neighborhood but it often attracts trouble from neighboring areas and nearby bars.
"There are certain establishments that attract riffraff," he said.
Judith Garrett, 52, said she installed a security system after a neighbor's home was broken into several months ago. She said the neighbors across the street had their car broken into recently.
"It makes me nervous that people are now targeting this neighborhood," she said.