Baltimore police fired 38 shots in an exchange of gunfire with Bilal “BJ” Abdullah, a well-known arabber who can be seen in newly-released body-worn camera footage pointing a firearm and appearing to shoot at officers, police department leaders said at a press conference.
The video shown Monday at Baltimore police headquarters included footage from multiple officers’ body cameras and was edited to obscure the faces of bystanders. In all, it lasted nearly seven minutes and showed a chaotic scene that ended with a distressed and agitated crowd surrounding Abdullah’s motionless body on the sidewalk and shouting at police.
Nearby community members knew what happened almost immediately after shots rang out: “That’s BJ!” one person can be heard shouting. Another screams “No!” repeatedly, sliding to the ground.
Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the department released the video as soon as possible because of concerns about public criticism of the shooting, which sparked outrage among people who knew Abdullah and prompted a 300-person march last week.
“I recognize that emotions are high at the loss of a cherished member of the community, and it’s deeply felt,” Worley said.
Worley said that police had a “reasonable and articulable suspicion” that justified stopping Abdullah on the evening of June 17 because they had received information that Abdullah was armed and brandished a weapon while making threatening comments. It is not clear exactly where that information came from, though the department said there is private video showing an earlier incident. Abdullah was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior criminal convictions, court records show.
The body-worn camera footage starts on Laurens Street in Upton as a detective in an orange shirt and black police vest approaches Abdullah and begins following him.
Abdullah, visibly annoyed and appearing to question the officer following him, walks away from the detective, passing behind a marked Baltimore Police Department vehicle and heading toward the Upton Metro Station. Abdullah pulls his brown crossbody bag around to the front of his body as the detective trails behind him, and then both men break into a run, with the detective chasing Abdullah.
In the chaotic footage that follows, the detective pushes Abdullah to the ground and a shot is fired — likely by Abdullah, Worley said, because the officers on the scene still had their guns holstered, according to the footage. Abdullah, who has fallen to the ground, can be seen pointing a Colt .380 at two other officers who approached from the intersection of Laurens Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Shots ring out — 41 in all, according to police, including three shots believed to have been fired by Abdullah and 38 by police officers — and the anguished screams from nearby community members begin almost immediately.
Three people then approach Abdullah’s body on the sidewalk, ignoring commands from police officers to back up. One man, who initially ran toward Abdullah and shouted to him before backing up when Abdullah and police exchanged gunfire, cried “BJ!” over and over again as he walked around Abdullah’s body. He is later heard on the footage saying “this is my brother, yo,” as he cradles Abdullah’s head. The crowd continues to grow and officers back away as a community member screams “Put that gun down!” Blood can be seen pooling beneath Abdullah’s motionless frame.
Worley said at the press conference that the officers handled the crowd well and praised their actions: “I think the officers did an exceptional job,” he said. “Our officers were put in a very difficult situation.” It took three to four minutes for officers to begin rendering aid to Abdullah, Worley said, because the crowd blocked their access. Members of the crowd can be seen checking on Abdullah almost immediately after the shooting, telling an officer “you the one that shot him.”
One officer was struck in the foot during the gunfire and has been released from the hospital. Deputy Commissioner Brian Nadeau said police believe the officer may have been struck by a bullet ricochet, but that ballistic evidence has not come back yet. Two of the officers who fired shots were in plainclothes but wearing police vests, officials said, and one was in uniform.
The three officers who fired shots during the exchange — Detective Devin Yancy, Detective Omar Rodriguez, and Officer Ashley Negron — have been assigned to administrative duties per department protocol.
At an unrelated press event Monday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said he understands the “pain and trauma that our residents and the community are feeling right now,” according to media reports.
“I’m going to be very clear, we cannot and will not allow individuals to carry and use illegal guns against police officers or anybody else in Baltimore without there being repercussions,” he said.
Aaron Maybin, the chair of Baltimore’s Civilian Review Board, called the footage “deeply disturbing” in a statement posted on Instagram. An audio delay makes it impossible to hear in the video how the officer who approached Abdullah identified himself or if he communicated why Abdullah was being stopped, Maybin said.
The officers’ failure to immediately render aid is also concerning, Maybin continued. “The suggestion that community members prevented care is misleading,” he said. “The scene remained calm enough in the early moments after the shooting to attempt lifesaving measures. The lack of urgency shown only heightened tensions on the ground.”
“While the investigation continues, this footage raises serious questions about tactics, training, and proportionality, particularly in a dense urban setting where bystanders were present,” Maybin said.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office’s Independent Investigations Division is probing the shooting. The office has investigated all life-threatening police shootings in Maryland since 2021, when state lawmakers created the IID as part of a package of police reform bills.
David Jaros, a law professor at the University of Baltimore, said that nothing in the body-worn camera videos suggests the police acted improperly. There are still unanswered questions about what happened, Jaros said, including whether Abdullah was experiencing a mental health crisis. Worley said Monday that police had no information about Abdullah’s mental health.
Jaros said he would also like to see the evidence that police believed Abdullah to be armed when they arrived on the scene. That tip did not come through dispatch, Worley said, but other department officials said there is independent video showing Abdullah making threatening statements and showing a firearm.