OXON HILL, Md. — A man is in the hospital after a police officer shot him at a shopping center in Oxon Hill on Monday.
According to the Forest Heights Police Department, the shooting happened at the Rivertowne Commons Marketplace on Oxon Hill Road.
In a press conference, Kirk Banton with the Forest Heights Police Department said officers first stopped a car linked to an assault suspect around 5:30 p.m. The officers reportedly told the driver to exit the car but he refused. A short time later, the driver got out allegedly armed with what police believed to be a knife. Investigators later clarified that the man was holding a multi-tool with the pliers out.
"During the encounter with the armed suspect, one officer discharged his duty-issued weapon, striking the suspect," Banton said.
The officers reportedly rendered aid until an ambulance arrived to take the driver to the hospital. The driver, later identified as Jhomari Delevante, is expected to survive.
Additional information was released between the Forest Heights Police Department and the Montgomery County Department of Police on Tuesday.
Delevante was wanted in connection to an assault in Montgomery County. MCDP says that the assault happened on Sunday, while Delevante was inside a business on Randolph Road around 6:40 a.m. armed with a large knife.
Delevante reportedly left the business but later returned. Despite police demanding he drop the knife, officers say Delevante refused and got back into his car. He reportedly tried to leave again but not before ramming a marked Montgomery County Department of Police cruiser.
A brief pursuit began but as it moved into D.C. the chase ended.
A day later, Forest Heights officers found the car unoccupied while canvassing the area. Officers watched the vehicle until the Delevante came back, at which point police blocked the car and cleared the area of any bystanders.
After eight minutes of demanding the suspect exit the vehicle, the man got out of the car with what officers believed to be the knife that later turned out to be a multi-tool. Forest Heights Police say an officer shot the man when he allegedly advanced toward officers.
The officer who shot the man has only been identified as a six-year veteran of the force assigned to the Special Operation Division. The officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Banton said the shooting was caught on body-camera video. The Prince George's County Police Department is assisting Forest Heights Police in the investigation.
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