Unanswered questions surround police-involved shooting along secluded Middle River road

BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — A normally quiet and secluded stretch of Middle River became the scene of a police-involved shooting Thursday morning.

The shooting happened near the end of Carroll Island Road, close to the fence line of a shuttered power plant and an area surrounded largely by farmland and residential roads.

“It’s always been a quiet neighborhood. That’s why I moved here, because of the quietness,” one nearby resident told FOX45 News.

“I’ve been here 40 years, come October 7th, and never had nothing like this happen,” said another.

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According to Baltimore County police, officers were called to the area around 7 a.m. to check on a woman who was allegedly armed and wanted in connection with an assault.

Police said officers found the woman inside her car. According to the department, she initially surrendered a knife but later produced a firearm, prompting one officer to fire their weapon before retreating.

Police dispatch audio captured the tense moments that followed.

“Hold the air — shots fired — hold the air,” a voice can be heard saying over the radio, “As far as we know, she still has a gun. We’re not sure if she’s still moving or not.”

Dispatch audio indicates officers then called for a drone to assess the situation from a safe distance.

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“From the appearance of the drone feed, we zoomed in on the car,” they said, “It appears that the subject is slumped over.”

Once the scene was secured, police say officers moved in to render aid. The woman was transported to an area hospital with a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. Police said a firearm was later recovered from inside her vehicle.

The shooting left neighbors along Carroll Island Road shaken.

One area resident saying, “That’s what I think. It’s kind of scary, very scary.” Another resident described the incident as “disturbing to say the least.”

Baltimore County police said only one officer fired their weapon. That officer has been placed on administrative leave, which the department says is standard policy following a police-involved shooting.

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office is now investigating the shooting.

FOX45 News has also asked Baltimore County police for additional information about the alleged assault that preceded the encounter and what led officers to Carroll Island Road. As of Thursday afternoon, the department had not provided additional details. It also remains unclear whether the woman was struck by the officer’s gunfire or whether her gunshot wound was self-inflicted. Police have not explicitly said who fired the shot that wounded her, stating only that the officer “discharged their firearm.”