Armed murder suspect, 32, shoots two cops serving a warrant near Baltimore mall before being killed

Two Baltimore city police officers were shot and a murder suspect was killed as a US Marshals' task force served a warrant outside a mall Tuesday morning, a Baltimore County police spokeswoman said.

Gunfire erupted at Security Square Mall in the Woodlawn section of Baltimore just before 8,30am. 

The wounded police officers were taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center with injuries that aren't thought to be life-threatening, county police spokeswoman Joy Stewart said. She said the suspect, identified as 32-year-old Justin Powell, was hospitalized elsewhere, having suffered at least one gunshot wound. 

Police tweeted shortly thereafter that the suspect has died. 

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison told reporters during a press briefing that the officers were looking for Powell in connection with a homicide that took place in Baltimore on June 19, leaving a 38-year-old man dead.  

Powell, from Baltimore, had a warrant out for his arrest on murder and handgun charges. 

A bullet-riddled pickup truck is seen outside Security Square Mall in Baltimore, where 32-year-old Justin Powell, a murder suspect, was shot and killed by the police after wounding two officers 

Shattered glass is seen on a pickup's driver side door as investigators document the scene in a mall parking area where two Baltimore city police officers were shot and a suspect was killed as a U.S. Marshals' task force served a warrant on Tuesday morning

Law enforcement officials confer near a mall parking area where two Baltimore city police officers were shot and a suspect was killed as a U.S. Marshals' task force served a warrant

The officers on the US Marshals task force found the wanted man in the mall parking lot and attempted to approach him, prompting the suspect to open fire on them. 

One officer was shot in the leg, and the other suffered wounds to the leg and arm. 

Police returned fire, striking the gunman. He has yet to be named. 

'What we saw today was exactly what officers go through. These are the most dangerous situations imaginable, but they did their job with bravery, with courage and with professionalism,' Harrison said. 

A large section of the parking lot at the mall was cordoned off with crime tape as officers collected evidence surrounding a pickup truck, which had bullet holes in the driver's side window and windshield.

Some two dozen police officers, paramedics and other officials gathered at the entrance to the Tokyo Seafood Hibachi Grill & Sushi, and a police helicopter hovered above the area.

An overhead shot of the officer-involved shooting scene in the mall parking lot on Tuesday

A Baltimore police forensic service officer carries a bag in an area where two Baltimore city police officers were shot and a suspect was killed

The rest of the sprawling shopping mall complex was largely open to the public Tuesday morning.

Baltimore´s police commissioner went to the medical center's shock trauma unit, where the wounded officers were being treated. Both were said to be in a stable condition. 

The wounded city officers have served on the US Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, which apprehends fugitives in the Washington DC and Baltimore area, generally for violent crimes.

'We are praying for the speedy recovery of the two Baltimore City police officers who were shot this morning while pursuing a homicide suspect,' tweeted Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. 'The Maryland State Police has offered its full support for the investigation.' 

In February, a deputy US Marshal was shot and wounded, and a suspect was killed, during an exchange of gunfire as law enforcement officials tried to arrest the man, wanted for attempted murder and robbery, in Baltimore.

Baltimore police official offers an update on the fatal officer-involving shooting Tuesday

Law enforcement officials gather near a mall parking area where two Baltimore city police officers were shot and a suspect was killed as a U.S. Marshals' task force served a warrant, Tuesday, July 13, 2021, in Baltimore, Maryland