By Kelli Palmer
A Kentucky man who shot a Baltimore County officer on Interstate 95 Saturday has been linked to a death investigation involving multiple victims in his home state, police said today.
The man, who was fatally shot by police during the incident, was suspected of killing his father, sister and mother, police said.
The Baltimore County officer who was shot during the incident was released from University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center later Saturday evening. His ballistic vest stopped the round that struck him, police said.
The gunman, who remains unidentified, lead police on a high-speed chase down I-95 late Saturday morning that ended in Essex, police said. The chase began when the suspect, who was driving a Honda Pilot, failed to stop for a trooper.
Police said the chase ended when the suspect driving the Honda struck another car and stopped. As the officers approached the Honda they said gunfire came from the vehicle and struck an officer. Officers returned fire.
The only occupant of the vehicle, an adult white male, was declared dead at the scene, police said. Officers said they contacted police in Corbin City, Ky., to check the address on the suspect’s car registration.
Corbin police found three bodies at that address, police said. The investigation continues at this time.
Update: Police release the names of officers involved in fatal shooting
The Baltimore County Police Department released the last names of the six officers involved in the Feb. 14 fatal shooting of a Kentucky man in Essex.
The officers names are Flaherty, Beale, Wootan, Tubaya, Trussell and Flanary. Police said it is department policy not to provide officers’ first names.
Sixteen-year-old Jason Hendrix was killed by police in a shootout that ensued when he fired several rounds at Baltimore County Police during a traffic incident in Essex, police said.
Flaherty was struck by one of the bullets and was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center and was released later that day.
Detectives searched the suspect’s Honda Pilot and found four loaded .38-caliber handguns, one loaded 9 mm handgun, a shotgun and a backpack containing ammunition for the weapons, police said.
Police said the incident remains under investigation.
–Update by Victoria Anastasi