A Maryland State trooper had gunned down a teenage suspect who refused to drop his knife amid an armed encounter on Tuesday.
16-year-old Peyton Ham was acting suspiciously and engaged police at around 1:30 p.m. before pointing an airsoft gun at an officer “in a shooting stance” who thought it was a real gun.
A witness told police that the trooper opened fire at Ham and asked him to drop a knife he brandished while trying to get up and charge at the cop.
“The trooper fired at the male, wounding him,” Md. State Police Superintendent Col. Woodrow Jones said. “He ordered him to drop the knife before he fired again.”
The teen refused and kept wielding the knife, prompting the trooper to fire a second shot, mortally hitting the suspect.
Police said that the weapon Ham was holding was “a close representation of an actual handgun.”
The teen passed away at a local hospital. His family released a statement following the incident describing Ham as an “honor student and avid history enthusiast” who also “thrived as a cook.”
“Our family is absolutely heartbroken and shattered over this sudden, unexpected loss of life of a talented young man, filled with promise.”
