Police shooting in Oxon Hill shopping center under investigation
OXON HILL, Md. - A Forest Heights police officer shot a man Monday outside the Safeway in the Rivertowne Commons Market Place, according to the department's Deputy Chief Kirk Banton.
Deputy Chief Banton told reporters in the shopping center that around 5:30 p.m., several officers stopped a car they believed was linked to an assault suspect.
When the officers asked the driver to step out of the vehicle, Deputy Chief Banton said the suspect – identified as 35-year-old Jhomari Delevante – initially refused the commands but later stepped out armed with a knife.
Jhomari Delevante, 35, of Silver Spring. Photo via Prince George's County Police Department
What happened between the officers' commands and the driver exiting the vehicle with a weapon is still under investigation. But Deputy Chief Banton said one officer eventually shot Delevante.
Photo via Prince George's County Police Department
He was taken to a local hospital with what Banton described as "non-life-threatening" injuries.
The officers involved were wearing body cameras, and the deputy chief said that the footage would be investigated internally and with the help of the Prince George's County Police Department.
According to the Montgomery County Police Department, Delevante was stopped earlier in the day by their officers in Rockville.
The department told FOX 5 that around 6:40 a.m., its 2nd District officers responded to a local business in the 5500 block of Randolph Road for the report of a man armed with a large knife.
Before officers arrived, the suspect, believed to be Delevante, had left the area in a white Volkswagen SUV.
While officers were still at the scene, Delevante allegedly returned and got out of his vehicle, holding a knife.
Police shooting at Oxon Hill shopping center under investigation
The department said that its officers asked him to drop the knife and attempted to deescalate the situation.
Delevante allegedly refused the commands and re-entered his vehicle, ramming a marked Montgomery County police cruiser during his escape.
The responding officers briefly pursued him, but he drove into Washington, D.C., where the chase ended.
In Prince George's County, Delevante is charged with possession of a dangerous weapon with the intent to injure and resisting/interfering with an arrest. He is also facing first-degree assault and felony-related charges in Montgomery County.