Police ID Knife-Wielding Man Fatally Shot By Police In Columbia

HOWARD COUNTY, Md. (WJZ)--Howard County police open fire and kill a man wielding a knife in a quiet Columbia neighborhood.

WJZ's Derek Valcourt has the latest.

Sky Eye Chopper 13 over the scene of the shooting which happened in driveway of 6400 block of Cardinal Lane in Columbia.

Police brought here by a 911 caller who said there was a man with a knife in his house threatening to kill him, but when officers arrived no one was in the house and instead they were met in the driveway by a man, identified as 19-year-old Gary Boitano, holding a knife.

"The man began to approach them they directed him repeatedly to drop the knife and he refused and one of the officers was forced to fire his weapon," said Howard County police spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn.

Boitano died at the scene.

Police say at this time there is no indication that anyone other than Boitano was present at the residence at the time of the incident.

Investigators have learned that Boitano was temporarily  staying at the Cardinal Lane residence.

The commotion rattled many in what is considered a safe neighborhood

"This is a sweet spot but it can happen anywhere, behind gated communities the finest communities," said Web Holtz.

Neighbors here waiting for more details but generally sympathetic to officer who opened fire.

"If it is a bad person with a knife not doing what police have asked for, without being nasty he deserves to be shot, it's that simple," another neighbor said.

The officer who opened fire is an 8-year veteran of the Howard County police force.  He's been placed on official leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

The shooting is being investigated by the Howard County Police Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau and Internal Affair Division.