BALTIMORE — It all started near Gwynns Falls Parkway and Reisterstown Road just after one o'clock Tuesday morning.
Police say an officer was making a normal traffic stop when another car, a silver SUV tried to strike the officer.
The incident went over the radio and minutes later another officer spotted the SUV in the intersection of Pennsylvania and Mosher.
As the officer approached in his squad car from the east, the suspect stepped out of the silver SUV and began shooting.
"The officer was able to back away from the suspect and avoid being hit by gunfire,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said. “The suspect got back into his vehicle and sped away and other responding officers followed behind."
Police say the suspect led police through several neighborhoods before being called off for fear of speed and safety; the silver SUV was last seen speeding southbound on 295.
The two officers last night would make seven; seven law enforcement officials either robbed, attacked or shot in Baltimore in five weeks.
Starting with Deputy Baltimore Police Commissioner Danny Murphy near Patterson Park last month, the beating of a civilian employee days later followed by the off-duty shooting of Sergeant Isaac Carrington and Saturday's attempted robbery of an off-duty city schools police officer and a retired corrections officer.
"It speaks to the brazenness of the criminal element today,” Harrison said. “Whether or not they have any regard for law enforcement or law at all or any regard for any consequences whether real or perceived...we want to make sure that we do our part in finding the people who are doing this and holding them accountable."
WMAR 2-News obtained a statement from Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 President Mike Mancuso who slammed the current climate facing Baltimore officers, and questioned the decision of BPD command staff to halt the chase;
"How out of control has Baltimore become when criminals walk up on a uniformed officer, in a marked patrol car, and fire shots at the officer. Then there is a vehicle pursuit of the suspect and the pursuit is called off by BPD command." said Mancuso. "What does this tell the criminal element? What does it tell the officers doing the job everyday? Is it any wonder that Baltimore is in the condition it is."
Mancuso then took to Twitter Tuesday evening, to once again criticize leadership, comparing their decision to call off the chase to the 2015 riots.
The brave men and women of the Baltimore Police Department were told to stand down during the riots. Now we are being told to stand down on an attempted murder of a police officer. #CityinCrisis
— Baltimore City FOP (@FOP3) August 27, 2019
Neither officer was injured last night and the squad car was not damaged, but so far the only description police have released of the suspect's vehicle is a silver SUV.
There is a city-watch camera at Mosher and Pennsylvania but police say it did not reveal any tag information.
