Towson Gunman Killed By Police Identified, Officers Named

TOWSON, MD — Investigators identified the gunman who was killed and three officers who fired their weapons in the fatal shooting at a Towson apartment complex on Saturday, June 4.

Joseph Robert Henry Thompson, 66, of Towson, died after officials said he opened the door to an apartment in the 400 block of Virginia Avenue where police were called about unknown trouble.

Thompson was wielding a gun and pointed it at officers, prompting an exchange of gunfire between him and three members of law enforcement, according to the Office of the Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division.

The Maryland attorney general's office is investigating Thompson's death in accordance with a state law passed in October 2021 mandating it handle all police-involved fatalities.

The three officers involved are all assigned to the Operations Bureau within the Baltimore County Police Department, according to investigators, who identified them as the following:

• Officer S. Johnson, a 16-year veteran of the department
• Officer C. Klapka, a four-year police veteran
• Officer R. Fitzgerald, who has worked for the department for 3.5 years

Thompson died at the scene; one officer was hospitalized with injuries described as not life-threatening; and a woman who had been shot multiple times was found inside the apartment as well, investigators said. The woman was taken to a local hospital, where she was in critical condition, officials reported Sunday night.

The Independent Investigations Division is still investigating the circumstances of the fatal shooting.

Related:

• Policeman Released From Hospital After Shooting: Officials
• Towson Shooting Involved Police, Officials Say
• Policeman Shot In Towson: Suspect Killed, 2 Injured, Officials Said