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Maryland trooper fatally shoots teen armed with airsoft gun

April 14 (UPI) -- Police in Maryland said they are investigating a trooper-involved shooting that resulted in the death of a 16-year-old boy armed with an airsoft gun and knife.

Maryland State Police on Tuesday identified the slain teen as Peyton Ham of Leonardtown, Md., located about 56 miles south of Washington, D.C.

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Authorities said police received two separate 911 calls within minutes of each other at around 1:30 p.m. concerning a man acting suspicious and possibly armed, Maryland State Police said in a statement.

According to a preliminary investigation, the state trooper shot Ham in a Hollywood Road driveway.

A witness told authorities they saw Ham in a shooting stance pointing what appeared to be a gun at the unnamed trooper who fired their weapon, injuring the teenager.

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A second witness told police the injured Ham pulled a knife as he attempted to get up from the group and the trooper fired on him again after ordering Ham to drop the weapon.

Authorities rendered aid to the suspect before he was transferred to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Upon inspection of the scene, an airsoft gun "that is a close representation of an actual handgun" was recovered along with a knife, state police said.

The trooper, a veteran of the force for two years and seven months, was not injured in the shooting and has been placed on administrative leave amid the investigation, it said.

The shooting is being investigated by the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit and the Maryland State Police Internal Affairs division as is procedure for trooper-involved shootings.

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