Man charged in shooting of County officer had juvenile record, previous assault on officer

Baltimore County, MD (WBFF) — Baltimore County Police have released an image of the suspect who they say is charged with the attempted murder of Officer P. Catalfamo.

Shaka Kamara, 38, is accused of shooting the officer and exchanging gunfire with other officers at Milford Mill Gwynn Falls trail in Pikesville this past Sunday morning.

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Now, FOX45 News is uncovering new information surrounding Kamara’s whereabouts in the days leading up to the shooting, as well as Kamara’s criminal history which includes a previous assault on a police officer and dates back to when he was a juvenile.

Court records show just two weeks before the shootout Kamara was stopped by Baltimore County Police in Owings Mills and cited with at least seven traffic violations.

According to court records, Kamara’s most recent criminal conviction in Maryland State court occurred back in 2020 when Kamara was arrested for severely assaulting an MTA police officer at the Upton Metro Station in Baltimore City.

Records show he was sentenced to six years in prison but did not serve that entire sentence.

In the statement of charges for that case, Kamara claimed he had anger issues and was bipolar and schizophrenic.

An even deeper dive into Kamara’s criminal history shows at just 16 years old Kamara was convicted of a firearms violation and placed on probation.

Records show he violated that probation with additional firearms related violations in 2005 and 2007.

According to court documents, the nature of Kamara’s crimes escalated in 2007 when he was arrested for an armed carjacking in Baltimore City.

Kamara was sentenced to five years in prison for a handgun possession violation in connection to the case, but granted probation before judgement for the armed carjacking charge.

Records show in 2016 Kamara was charged with at least two failure to register violations, subsequently triggering a probation violation for the armed carjacking case.

According to court records, Kamara was sentenced to the original 15 year sentence for the armed carjacking. A judge suspended all but 14 years of that sentence.

Kamara’s crimes involving handguns continued in 2018 with an arrest for five weapons related violations including possession of a firearm with a felony conviction, illegal possession of a firearm and a handgun in vehicle charge.

Two years later Kamara was charged with the assault on the MTA police officer.

And now, several years later, the 38-year-old is facing 12 criminal counts including the first degree attempted murder of a Baltimore County Police officer.

Kamara is scheduled for a preliminary hearing July 1.