Baltimore business owner shoots, kills burglar in incident captured on camera

A business owner in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood shot and killed a man during a burglary at his jewelry store early Thursday morning, police said.

It happened around 2 a.m. at the intersection of Fleet and Madeira Streets in Southeast Baltimore. 

Captured on video 

The shooting was caught on video and shared with WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. 

The owner of the camera declined to allow WJZ to publish the images. He said he shared them with the police. 

That video, which contains no audio, shows the man at the entrance to the jewelry store. He appears to be entering the business.

Seconds later, he fell down onto the pavement. 

911 caller speaks to WJZ 

Christine Wilson recounted the terrifying moments when she heard the three loud gunshots just feet from her home.

"It was right in my ear," Wilson said. "I'm hearing those gunshots, and it was like it was coming through my house. Bang, bang, bang—and all of a sudden, I hear this scream and then nothing, and so I was on the phone with 911. They said they were going to send someone out. They said don't go to the windows, but I started going to all my windows and I saw a man lying there."

Baltimore police described it as a commercial burglary at the jewelry store across the street and confirmed the store owner shot and killed a 39-year-old man. 

Police have yet to identify the man who died. 

"His head was in the street. His feet were up on the first step of the building right there, and then all the emergency people came out, they brought a stretcher and took him out," Wilson said. "When it got so silent that was kind of more eerie—and then I started to look around and couldn't see anybody, and I was like, 'What just happened?'"

Business owner's account 

Bullet holes remained in two windows at the store. 

The shattered glass in the store's front door has since been covered. The owner reportedly lived above his shop. 

A friend of the owner shared this account on his behalf: 

• He was watching a movie around 2 a.m.
• He said someone broke through his glass front door with a brick, so he fired a warning shot and said, "Freeze!" 
• The intruder ducked, then popped back up, and he shot him.

Past incident 

In 2019, at a liquor store just one block away, an employee shot and killed an armed robber. The state's attorney determined that the case was justified self-defense, and no charges were filed. 

Castle Doctrine 

Police declined to speak on camera. The state's attorney's office also declined an interview request about the deadly Canton shooting.

Maryland law includes the Castle Doctrine, which allows the use of force to protect your home, but that force must be proportional to the perceived threat. 

It has been invoked in other cases.