During an August 2016 standoff with an armed woman at an apartment in Baltimore County, Maryland, a police officer fired his rifle through an interior wall into the kitchen. The bullet struck the woman, Korryn Gaines, in the upper back, then ricocheted off the refrigerator, striking her 5-year-old son, Kodi, in the cheek.
The officer, Baltimore County Cpl. Royce Ruby, later testified that he fired the "head shot" without a clear view of Gaines, saying he could see only her braids and the barrel of the shotgun through his rifle scope. He also said he could not see Kodi but knew that he was in the kitchen and that "there's a possibility" the boy would be hit by the bullet. A witness testified that Gaines, explaining his decision to take the shot, described himself as "hot" and "frustrated."
It was understandable that Ruby was hot. The police had cut off power to the apartment building, which was sweltering without air conditioning. It was also understandable that he was frustrated. At that point, the standoff, during which more than 30 officers surrounded the building, had dragged on for more than six hours. Police had been told that Gaines "had a history of mental illness and that she had been off her medication," as the Maryland Supreme Court later noted. "Officers testified that Ms. Gaines acted erratically, sometimes negotiating with officers, at other times threatening them and cutting off contact."
