Hyattsville Police Officer Shoots, Injures Assault Suspect

A Hyattsville police officer shot and wounded a man Sunday after the man drove toward a group of officers who were trying to pull him over, authorities said.

The incident began about 7 p.m., when police were called to the 6500 block of Belcrest Road for a reported fight. There, officers found several people assaulting a man whom they had apparently almost hit with their vehicle as he was walking in the crosswalk between the Mall at Prince George's and University Town Center, authorities said.

One of the suspects was arrested, while the others attempted to flee in a vehicle, police said. Apparently unfamiliar with the area, they turned down a street that brought them back to the officers, police said. The vehicle struck one officer, backed into oncoming traffic on Belcrest Road and then pulled toward the officers again, police said. At that point, another officer fired a shot, police said.

The vehicle drove away, but about an hour and a half later, the driver showed up at a hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm, authorities said. Police obtained an arrest warrant charging him with first- and second-degree assault and resisting arrest. His name has not been released because he remains hospitalized with an injury, which is not life-threatening, and he has yet to appear in front of a district court commissioner, police said.

Police did not identify the officer who fired the shot but said he is a corporal with nine years of experience. He has been placed on paid administrative leave while police investigate the shooting, which is standard policy. The officer who was hit by the vehicle sustained only minor injuries, police said.

The man who was being assaulted sustained superficial injuries and did not require hospitalization, police said.