BCoPD today released additional information about yesterday’s police-involved shooting in the unit block of Sulky Court in Randallstown.
Korryn Gaines, 23, engaged in a standoff with police at her apartment that began around 9:40 a.m. and ended around 3 p.m., when she pointed a shotgun at a tactical officer and threatened to shoot him. There was an exchange of gunfire between a tactical officer and Gaines, who fired two rounds from the shotgun.
A 5-year-old boy, now confirmed as Gaines’ son, was inside the apartment during the barricade and was injured in the crossfire. Police still have not determined whether he was struck by a round from a police weapon or from Gaines’ weapon. That remains under investigation.
The child, Kodi Gaines, was transported to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and remains there in good condition.
Kodi Gaines was moving about the apartment, mostly in the kitchen area, during the barricade. His exact whereabouts at the time of the shooting remain under investigation.
The Gun
Gaines’ weapon is a Mossberg 12-gauge pistol grip shotgun. Homicide detectives have documentation proving that Gaines purchased the gun last year.
Social Media Accounts
On-scene command staff filed a request with Facebook during the barricade to deactivate Gaines’ Facebook and Instagram accounts in order to preserve the integrity of negotiations with her and for the safety of Gaines, her child and officers. Gaines was posting video of the operation, and followers were encouraging her not to comply with negotiators’ requests that she surrender peacefully. This was a serious concern; successful negotiations often depend on the negotiators’ ability to converse directly with the subject, without interference or distraction during extremely volatile conditions.
The content on Gaines’ social media accounts has not been deleted. BCoPD has filed a request with Facebook to preserve this content as evidence. A search warrant will be obtained to obtain these records.
Law enforcement officials do not have the ability or authority to deactivate social media accounts on their own. Facebook maintains a law enforcement portal through which police request assistance. This portal includes an “exigency” option for emergency situations like the one yesterday. BCoPD applied for the exigency deactivation because of a barricade situation involving an armed subject with a child.
Facebook evaluates law enforcement requests and determines what action will be taken. It took nearly an hour after BCoPD contacted Facebook for Gaines’ accounts to be taken off line.
Gaines’ Boyfriend
The male suspect who was in the apartment with Gaines when police tried to serve them both with arrest warrants was Gaines’ boyfriend. He is Kareem K. Courtney, 39, of the unit block of Sulky Court. He is charged with second degree assault and was released on his own recognizance. The assault charge stems from a domestic altercation with Gaines.
Courtney was apprehended by police as he tried to leave the apartment with a 1-year-old boy (whose relationship with Gaines is not confirmed) before Gaines began her standoff.
March 10 Traffic Stop
Yesterday, Gaines was being served with a “failure to appear” bench warrant stemming from charges incurred in a March 10, 2016 traffic stop in the area of Pikeswood Drive and Liberty Road.
Officers stopped Gaines’ silver Toyota Camry because it had no license plate — only a rectangular piece of cardboard with the following writing on it: “Any government official who compromises this pursuit to happiness and right to travel, will be held criminally responsible and fined, as this is a natural right to freedom.”
Gaines resisted arrest, throwing the citations issued by the officer out the window and saying officers would have to “murder” her before she got out of the vehicle. She engaged officers in a physical fight as they tried to remove her from the vehicle.
Two children, an infant and four-year-old Kodi Gaines, were in the vehicle with her.
Gaines requested a medic, and a medic was called.
A copy of the incident report for this incident is available here.
Yesterday’s Barricade
The Homicide Unit conducts a thorough investigation of all officer-involved shootings. The investigation of the Sulky Court incident remains under investigation.
The basic details of the barricade and shooting are provided in yesterday’s blog post. BCoPD offers the following additions and clarifications:
-Police secured an arrest warrant from a District Court Commissioner for Gaines, charging her with first-degree assault on a police officer, as soon as she pointed a weapon at the three officers who attempted to serve the FTA bench warrant.
-During the barricade, tactical officers were staged just outside the open door of Gaines’ apartment. They took cover behind the walls on either side of the door, but were visible to Gaines at various times throughout the encounter. Likewise, during the barricade Gaines remained mostly in areas of the apartment where she was visible to the officers.
-Negotiators conversed with Gaines by phone and face to face (mostly by shouting across the room). They encouraged her to stay on the phone throughout the event. The Hostage Negotiation Team describes her demeanor as “up and down.” She was extremely excitable at times, calm at others; and there were periods of silence. She became angry and irritated as the afternoon wore on and finally hung up on police.
-Per standard Hostage Negotiation Team procedures, officers involved Gaines’ family members — including her parents — in the negotation.
-The barricade’s turning point came at about 3 p.m, when she pointed the shotgun directly at one officer visible to her through the doorway and said she was going to shoot him if officers did not leave.
-None of the officers involved were wearing body cameras. The County’s body camera program — which eventually will equip more than 1,400 officers with cameras — was launched only about a month ago. BCoPD is in the first stage of the program, training and equipping 10 officers a week. Tactical officers eventually will be equipped with cameras.
-Police consulted with mental health professionals during the barricade.
-Police cannot confirm that Gaines used the child as a shield. Tactical officers saw Gaines point the shotgun at the child several times, but are not sure if that was deliberate or incidental.
