Homicide suspect dead, Montgomery County police officer injured after shooting in Laurel

LAUREL, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A Montgomery County police detective was injured in a shooting with a homicide suspect in Laurel Tuesday.

It happened around 3:30 p.m near Mount Pleasant Drive and Muirkirk Rd in south Laurel.

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Police say officers were attempting to arrest the suspect, who was wanted for a homicide that occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, when the suspect opened fire and a foot chase ensued.

Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said officers returned fire and there was a “gun battle,” that left the suspect dead at the scene.

The officer shot was transported to a local hospital.

Chief Jones said the officer was shot in the upper body and his condition is unknown. Jones spoke at a press conference Tuesday evening.

“I’ll tell you, I’m on edge because I want to make sure that he is OK. Once I leave here, I will be heading to the hospital to check on his condition,” Jones said. “But I ask the public, keep him in your prayers because at this point in time, he was taking a very dangerous individual – these officers were taking a very dangerous individual off our streets.”

Jones said detectives in the case are part of a U.S. Marshals task force and that is why they were in Prince George’s County to arrest the suspect.

Prince George’s County police are also investigating the incident, but say none of their officers were involved.

Jones did not identify the deceased suspect or provide details about the homicide case in Florida. He said the homicide happened Monday and his detectives learned the suspect was in the area on Tuesday.

It’s unclear why the suspect was in Maryland.