Authorities say individual refused to drop his gun when ordered by officers.
Thurmont, Md (KM) The investigation continues into an officer-involved shooting in Thurmont early Monday morning.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, a call came into Frederick County Emergency Communications at 1:20 AM from a man who said an individual armed with a gun broke into a house on Sandy Spring Lane. The caller provided a description to the dispatcher, and the call ended. Thurmont Police Officers, Sheriff’s Deputies and state troopers responded.
Spokeswoman Taylor Clarke with the Sheriff’s Office says while en route, police learned that a male suspect was being suicidal and spoke about suicide by cop, and the suspect currently had a gun on the caller. In addition, says Clarke, a Thurmont Police Officer who was responding had helped a woman who lived at the house in filing a protective order., and it was believed that the woman and children were inside of the home.
Clarke says police encountered the man walking back to the home with a weapon in his hand. “Additional commands were given for the suspect to put the gun down. However, the suspect refused,” she said. “Subsequently a deputy with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office discharged his patrol rifle one time, and struck the male.”
First aid was administered on the scene, and medics were dispatched, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. He’s identified as Abraham Arellano, 26, of Thurmont.
After the scene was secured, officers determined there was no one inside the house at the time of the incident. The Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Unit and Crime Scene Unit were dispatched to the scene to begin their work.
“Investigators were able to prove that Arellano was in fact the caller reporting a male fitting his description breaking into the residence with a gun,” says Clarke. “Investigators determined that Arellano had recently just moved from the address due to ongoing domestic issues.”
She says they also found out that the current resident of the home on Sandy Spring Lane had applied for a protective order against Arellano a few hours before the incident.
The deputy who shot Arellano has been placed on administrative leave, which the Sheriff’s Office says is standard procedure following any officer-involved shooting.
Clarke was asked if Arellano wanted police to kill him, as he mentioned suicide by cop in speaking with an Emergency Communication dispatcher. “The investigation is still ongoing, but everything that we have so far is certainly pointing toward that. But obviously, it’s still ongoing, and everything is going to be investigated thoroughly,” she responds.
By Kevin McManus