Four Maryland officers on leave after traffic stop results in officer-involved shooting, fatality

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A Maryland police department put four officers on leave following a shooting incident during a traffic stop that resulted in one fatality. 

Montgomery County officers performed a traffic stop in Silver Spring Wednesday morning because the white Mercedes-Benz matched the description of the vehicle belonging to a suspect involved in a shooting at around 4:15 a.m. An off-duty officer found the victim and reported the details of the incident to on-duty police. 

Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones briefs the media following the officer involved shooting on Wayne Avenue in Silver Spring. (MCP Twitter)

The suspect then got out of his car with a handgun and shot at the officers. The officers returned fire, striking and killing the suspect, Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones told reporters. 

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"The four officers that were involved in this have all been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of this investigation," Jones said. The department cannot yet say how many shots the officers fired or where they hit the suspect.

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General Independent Investigation Division will handle the investigation into the officer-involved shooting, WUSA 9 reported. 

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"Currently, we have our investigators on scene along with our crime scene techs that are with the Maryland State Police gathering evidence," Thomas Lester, spokesman for the A.G. office, said. The department will utilize footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras, which should be released within 14 days. 

The initial shooting victim received treatment for his injuries at a hospital, but his identity has not yet been revealed, WTOP News reported. 

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Police believe the suspect and victim may have known each other prior to the incident.