Knife-Wielding Man Shot and Killed by Police in Columbia

Police say they don’t know the dead man’s identity.

A man who confronted police with a knife and refused to drop it was shot and killed by an officer, Howard County Police say.

Officials said there was nobody inside the residence.

“Investigators are still working to confirm who made the 911 call”, Howard County Police Department spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn told Patch. A caller reported that a man with a knife was inside the home and threatening to kill him.

Maryland Police identify the man shot by a cop on Friday in a house in Columbia as Gary Carmona Boitano.

The officer has been placed on routine administrative leave.

Officers arrived and were confronted by the man, armed with a knife, in the driveway. Police say, the officer “was forced to fire” at him.

The shooting will be investigated by HCPD Criminal Investigations Bureau and Internal Affairs Division.

No further information was immediately available.