Baltimore election worker's car hit by gunfire during police shooting

Todd Karpovich, The Baltimore Sun on Oct 23, 2026

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BALTIMORE — A Baltimore City Board of Elections contractor retrieving ballots from a drop box near the Erdman Shopping Center was an uninjured bystander Thursday when a Baltimore Police officer shot and critically wounded a man during a foot chase, election officials said.

The contractor’s car was damaged by gunfire, but the ballots were not harmed, according to Clifford Tatum, the city’s election director. The Board of Elections recovered all the ballots in the contractor’s possession and secured them, Tatum said.

The contractor was retrieving ballots from a drop box at 3801 Erdman Avenue when the shooting occurred nearby, according to Tatum.

The incident unfolded shortly after 12:15 p.m. in the 3900 block of Erdman Avenue in the Belair-Edison neighborhood.

Police said the officer, who was working an overtime shift, was patrolling the area in a marked vehicle when he began speaking with a man. The officer got out of his vehicle and approached the man, who fled on foot, according to Col. Ryan Lee.

During the chase, the man pulled out a firearm and pointed it at the officer, prompting the officer to fire multiple rounds, Lee said. The man was struck and taken to a hospital in critical condition.

A semiautomatic handgun was recovered at the scene, Lee said. Police had not identified the man as of Thursday afternoon.

The officer, who has not been identified, was not injured. Lee said the officer was working overtime because of concerns about activity in and around the neighborhood.

Mayor Brandon Scott, who was at the scene Thursday, said investigators were reviewing the interaction between the officer and the man. He called the shooting traumatic for the neighborhood and noted its proximity to a library and childcare center.

“We will not have individuals willingly walking around, carrying firearms and pulling a firearm out,” Scott said. “We are lucky that our police officer is not injured.”

Scott said the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement would respond to the shooting. A spokesperson for the office said Thursday that staff planned to canvass the community after reviewing 911 and 311 information and coordinating with partners.

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