Baltimore County Police say that they fatally shot an armed Black woman on Monday [August 1] after an hours-long standoff in which she allegedly pointed a shotgun at them, threatening to kill them inside a Randallstown apartment.
It was a 23-year old Korryn Gaines who was shot dead by law enforcement while her 5-year-old son was hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
After the mysterious deletion of Gaines’s social media accounts and videos she uploaded during the standoff, call for footage of the standoff have increased, with many voicing their skepticism of the situation.
In one video that has since made its rounds on Twitter, Gaines can be heard speaking to her son as she asks him, “What are they to do?”
“They’re trying to kill us,” he replies.
The Baltimore County Police department expressed that it was “not clear” yet if any of the officers involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras.
“Our body camera program is just a few weeks old,” said Elise Armacost, the department’s director of public affairs. “We are looking to see whether any officers involved in this case were wearing cameras but only a few officers are wearing them at this point.”
A department spokesperson said three officers made their way to Gaines’s home to execute an arrest warrant after she failed to appear in court for traffic offenses. Police obtained a key from the landlord and opened the door to find Korryn Gaines pointing a shotgun at them, holding her son in one arm.
The incident took place at around 9:40 am and carried on through the afternoon. The building was evacuated as police negotiated with Gaines for several hours.
Officers opened fire at around 3 p.m local time after Gaines allegedly said, “If you don’t leave, I’m going to kill you.”
Korryn Gaines was struck multiple times, dying at the scene. All officers involved have since been placed on administrative leave.
