Update, 6:20 p.m., Jan. 20:
Maryland State Police have identified the driver of the Ford Focus who police said fatally shot himself during a traffic stop on Interstate 270 on Friday afternoon as a 27-year-old Gaithersburg man. The man's body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy, police said in a news release Sunday.
Update, 9:45 p.m., Jan. 18:
A man fatally shot himself after being stopped by a state trooper near the Montrose Road exit of Interstate 270 on Friday afternoon, Maryland State Police said.
Police are working to identify the man, state police said in a news release Friday evening.
Multiple lanes of I-270 northbound were closed for several hours due to the police investigation, leading to significant traffic delays during the evening rush at the start of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
According to police, a state trooper from the Rockville barrack was patrolling northbound on I-270 before Montrose Road (Exit 4) shortly after 4 p.m. when he saw the driver of a 1997 Ford Focus driving without a seatbelt.
The trooper initiated a traffic stop and the driver pulled the car over on the right shoulder without incident, police said. As the trooper exited his vehicle he heard a gun shot and immediately returned to his vehicle to request backup, the release said.
“The trooper gave verbal commands to the driver but he did not respond,” the release said.
When backup arrived, the troopers again tried to communicate, telling the driver to exit the vehicle, police said. When the driver did not respond, the troopers approached the car and found the driver unresponsive with “what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his upper torso,” the release said. They also saw a handgun near the car’s center console, the release said.
The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service was called. Responders performed emergency procedures before pronouncing the man dead at the scene, the release said. His body will be taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy, police said.
The investigation is ongoing. Investigators from the Rockville barrack and state police crime scene technicians were still processing the scene at 9 p.m. Friday.
The state police Homicide Unit will be conducting the investigation, police said.
Original post, 6:13 p.m., Jan. 18:
A police investigation of a possible suicide closed three northbound lanes of Interstate 270 just before the Montrose Road exit in Rockville during the height of Friday afternoon’s rush hour.
HOV restrictions had been lifted for I-270 and at least one lane had reopened by 5:30 p.m., Maryland State Police said. Significant delays remained.
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Officer Britta Thomas, a Montgomery County police spokeswoman, said county police responded shortly after 4 p.m. and that the investigation involved “a possible suicide.” She referred further questions to Maryland State Police, who are now handling the investigation.
A person reached in the MSP’s Rockville barrack said police are not commenting on the investigation at this time.
To "Frank" in the above comment: Sir, I sincerely hope that you are not so naive as to think that a knife is less deadly than a gun. I hope that you are not so naive as to insinuate that A GUN killed this man! . This man chose his own destiny! The gun did not raise itself from a secure position, point it's muzzle in the diection of the man's chest, and squeeze its own trigger! His method of suicide was only one of many, many possibilities. I sincerely hope that your comment above is not an implication that A lack of firearms in this nation is somehow going to prevent random tragedies such as this. With such a belief, you would have to disregard the power of human imagination and ingenuity. Death still happened before the invention of gun powder! Those who wish to cause death will find a way!
Do you know what SUICIDE means? This matter doesn't have anything to do with what weapon is deadlier. He WANTED to kill himself. If he had a knife, he would have made sure of it that he would be dead. Btw, I'm NOT a gun owner. And don't have any aspirations in being one. Just to make that clear and so no one makes any assumptions.
You make a really good point!
Dman, I am truly sorry for the loss of your friend. In hindsight, I realized that the article, and my statement, insinuated that this was a suicide. This may not be the case. It could very well have been an accidental shooting. The man may have simply been trying to hide his gun, prior to the the officer approaching his vehicle, when the gun fired. Hopefully the medical examiner can help offer answers for those affected by this tragedy.
We know very little about the story but we can deduce that if the man was wearing a seat belt he wouldnt have gotten pulled over OR if the police stopped enforcing victim-less crimes he wouldnt have gotten pulled over. Either way, no pull over means no suicide... at least not then, not there. Keep making those roads safe officer, thanks!
Yeah, Frank... I am CERTAIN that if the man had a hand grenade or a simple single edged razor blade he'd be at Disney World. Have you forgotten to take your meds, Frank? I have NEVER seen ANY gun move on it's own, load itself, engage its shell, pull its own hammer back aim itself and pull its own trigger; however, if YOU have, please do everyone a favor and dial 911 and have them take you directly to the nearest Psych Ward, okay?
It is my hope that when the Affordable Care Act takes full effect that all Americans will be able to received proper treatment for mental, and emotional disorders as well as those that are physical. RIP Mr. Jackson.