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Video shows aftermath of ambush shooting of Baltimore officer as bystander says 'Don't call the police' to report the crime

SARAH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 17, 2021

   

A Baltimore police officer is clinging to life after being ambushed and shot, and disturbing video shows the immediate aftermath of the shooting when a bystander says not to call the police.

What are the details? 

According to a Thursday report from the Baltimore Sun, 39-year-old Officer Keona Holley was sitting inside her patrol car on Thursday night when she was ambushed and shot. 

One witness said he was inside his home when he heard a "loud crash" come from outside at around 2:00 a.m. local time. 

The crash, according to the report, was Holley's vehicle, which accelerated after the attack, smashing through a nearby chain-link fence and rolling toward a nearby playground, where it eventually came to a stop.

Authorities said that officers found Holley inside the patrol car after she failed to respond to their radio requests. 

Video shared to social media showed the moments following the attack and subsequent crash. 

The man apparently filming the video can be heard saying, "Don't call the police, don't."

The man adds that police only harass people within the community. 

A woman says, "We can't let him die." 

Reporter Justin Fenton tweeted the video, captioning it, "Instagram video that appears to show immediate aftermath of officer being shot this morning in Curtis Bay: 'Don't call the police,' person shooting the video says[.] 'We can't let them die,' woman responds.'"Content warning: rough language:

'It should not be like this'

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said that investigators have located a vehicle believed to be involved in the shooting and are in the process of questioning persons of interest. 

He has yet to release a motive but said that it appeared the officer was targeted for being a police officer. 

Holley's sister, Lawanda Sykes, said that the officer is "a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a woman" who always dreamed of becoming a police officer. 

“We gotta do better in this city,” Sykes said. “Baltimore, we are killing ourselves. It should not be like this.”

Holley said in 2020 that she decided to join the department in 2019 to help police-community relations in the embattled city. 

“I feel like Baltimore city police officers have a bad name about themselves,” she said. “And we have to change that — and change it together.”

(H/T: The Police Tribune)