A 25-year-old Gaithersburg man was shot and killed Friday afternoon at a Silver Spring apartment building during an incident involving Montgomery County police.
Hector Jose Marinero of the 18700 block of Walkers Choice Road was pronounced dead at an area hospital. An autopsy is being conducted by the medical examiner’s office in Washington, D.C. The shooting remains under investigation.
County police say Officers Nathan Kane and Cory Brodzinski from the Third District station in Silver Spring saw a man with what appeared to be an ASP baton, a tactical, club-like weapon issued to police, outside an apartment in the 700 block of University Boulevard East about 5:45 p.m.
The officers stopped to investigate but the man had left.
Police say two people then brought the officers inside the building and led them to a basement apartment. Inside the unit, the officers allegedly encountered Marinero. Police say the baton was with him in the living room of the apartment.
Marinero then led Kane, who has been with the department for 17 months, to a rear bedroom, where Marinero allegedly produced a handgun, police said.
Two shots were fired and Marinero was struck, according to police.
Police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said police are investigating who fired the shots among other details that were not available Saturday evening.
Officers began life-saving procedures until fire and rescue arrived, according to police. Police said a gun was found near Marinero.
Attempts to reach Marinero’s family on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
The officers have been placed on administrative traumatic incident leave, which is standard procedure in these cases, according to the news release.
Police are investigating the shooting and are asking witnesses to call 240-773-5070.
‘‘We’re trying to speak to as many people as possible,” Baur said.
The shooting comes a little more than a week after Jorge Villatoro, a 53-year-old Hyattsville man, was shot to death at Variedades Jenny, a family-owned shop, in the 600 block of University Boulevard East.
Police are still looking for the gunman and a man he was with, and have issued computer-generated images of the two suspects. Police are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
In response, residents from several apartment buildings in the Long Branch neighborhood will meet with Capt. Donald M. Johnson, commander of the Montgomery County Police Department’s Third District station, and Prince George’s County Police Chief Melvin C. High at a town hall meeting 7 p.m. today at Eastern Middle School, 300 University Blvd. East, Silver Spring.
Residents will describe problems they have faced in the Long Branch and Langley Park neighborhoods and hear responses from police officials.
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