BALTIMORE, Md. — It was a chaotic Monday morning at the Man Alive Methadone Clinic on Maryland Avenue in Baltimore. Police said a suspect shot and killed a man inside the clinic and then shot a 25-year-veteran with the Baltimore Police Department, Sgt. Bill Shiflett.
Officer Christopher Miller, a 2.5 year veteran, pulled Sgt. Shiflett to safety as the suspect was taken down by another officer.
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Sgt. Shiflett was taken to Shock Trauma and had surgery Monday afternoon. As of Monday night, he was still there and stable. The suspect was killed.
"Here’s a case where a big part of the problem has done irreparable harm to a big part of the solution. It's a sad story," said Tony Ambridge, who used to be the board president for the Man Alive Clinic.
He was the board president for 30 years. He said things like this typically don't happen at these clinics.
"There's pretty tight security there," Ambridge said. "Admission into it is not done lackadaisically."
He explained how these clinics have very strict rules to help people with substance abuse issues.
"Methadone is a replacement addiction. It's much easier to manage a person on methadone than heroin," Ambridge said.
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Ray Hamilton went to the clinic for seven years. He said he knew many of the workers and patients inside at the time of the shooting.
"They are the best when you trying to do something, when you wanna change something," said Hamilton. "When you on the streets, they’re gonna help you get off the streets."
Ambridge said these clinics work because they treat the whole person, not just the addiction.
"It's a problem far more complex than the physical addiction," said Ambridge. "For every failure there's 10 successes."
Police have not released if the other person shot was a worker or a client. However, we do know a woman who worked there was injured. Police are not releasing the name of the suspect or the other person shot until all of the families are notified.
