Residents of Columbia apartment for adults with disabilities traumatized by deadly police shooting
The Maryland Attorney General's office has identified a man who died after being shot by Howard County police Sunday morning as a 25-year-old Columbia resident.
Investigators said Alexander Lamorie called 911 to say he was planning to harm himself. Police encountered him in the parking lot of Patuxent Commons, a new apartment complex for adults with disabilities and senior citizens in Columbia.
Police said Lamorie refused officers' commands to drop a knife before they shot and killed him.
Trauma at home
The incident happened near the rear entrance to the building, and many traumatized residents saw the body, including Kiel McDonald.
"It was crazy because it wasn't covered up or anything when I saw it," McDonald said Monday. "I don't think they should have killed him. They could have shot him in the leg or something—or maybe just tried to detain him."
A witness told WJZ Investigates he heard six shots.
Grief counselors
The Autism Society of Maryland helped develop the $44 million Patuxent Commons apartment complex and provided a resources coordinator and grief counselors for residents with their partners Mission First Housing Group.
"Together, we support a full investigation of this tragedy on behalf of the family, the residents of Patuxent Commons, the entire Howard County community, and members of the disability community," the organizations said in a statement.
Mental health response
Howard County police declined comment on the incident, but their website states, "HCPD has a robust program to train officers in mental health situations and to offer resources and services for the public. Police officers are often the first people to make contact with someone in a mental health crisis."
Maryland has seen several incidents over the past year where officers have killed people in mental health crisis, including in Howard County on June 9, 2025, when investigators said 23-year-old Micah Booker pleaded with officers to shoot him after Booker admitted stabbing his brother.
Booker was armed with a spear and police said he refused to drop it and ran toward an officer who shot him twice.
The attorney general declined to charge the officer in that case.
Several cases in Baltimore City have also drawn scrutiny, including the death of Pytorcarcha Brooks, a 70-year-old woman killed in her home last June after police used a Taser on her and said she advanced toward officers with a knife.
