Officers fire at man who tried to run them over with vehicle in Bladensburg: police

BLADENSBURG, Md. - Authorities have taken two men into custody after they say one of them tried to run over officers with a vehicle late Sunday night in Prince George's County.

Officers say they responded to the 5100 block of 57th Avenue in Bladensburg just after 11:50 p.m. Sunday for a report of individuals wearing ski-masks tampering with vehicles.

Police were able to take one of the subjects into custody when they arrived. Investigators say the second man got into a vehicle and attempted to flee the scene.

At a press conference, Bladensburg Chief of Police Tyrone Collington said three police officers opened fire after they say the man drove directly at them in an attempt to flee the area. Collington said the man in the vehicle struck the rear of one of the marked police cruisers causing significant damage to the vehicle and causing the hood of the vehicle he was driving to open fully. 

Collington said the man was ‘hell-bent on escaping from us' and said the vehicle was pursued into D.C. where the suspect was detained in the 2300 block of Good Hope Road in the southeast. Collington said the suspect drove the entire distance from Bladensburg into the District - a distance of around 8 miles - with the hood of the vehicle wide open and called it a 'miracle' that no one was hurt.

The man was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that Collington said he sustained in the upper-torso after being shot by the officers. No officers or bystanders were injured, Collington said.

Collington said the suspect’s vehicle was confirmed stolen and that charges against him are pending. He also said body-worn footage will be reviewed. He also said that both men were from D.C.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Bladensburg Police Department at (301) 864-6080 or the Prince George’s County Police at (301) 516-5721.