Catonsville Shooting Leaves Veteran Police Officer Dead, Suspect Shot

A Catonsville shooting has left a veteran Baltimore County police officer dead after he was ambushed while serving a warrant.

Police say 36-year-old Jason Schneider was serving a warrant on Winters Lane in Catonsville on Wednesday. As he turned a corner inside the home the suspect reportedly opened fire, striking Schneider several times.

The officer was rushed to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, but died as a result of his injuries.

“This is particularly hard…. He was a great guy. Can you imagine what he did in 10 years of tactical,” Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson said after the Catonsville shooting.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz also spoke out about the shooting, calling Schneider’s death “a terrible loss for Baltimore County.”

Police said Schneider was inside the Catonsville home, going room to room to search for the suspect. After the suspect opened fire Schneider shot back and struck the suspect, who was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in critical condition.

Schneider was a unit leader in the Baltimore County Police Department, where he had served in the special tactical unit for the last decade. In all he spent 13 years in law enforcement.

Schneider’s father is also a retired city police officer.

“He is remarkably stoic,” Kevin Kamenetz said.

Schneider was married with two young children.

Though the area has seen a decline in violent crime in the past several years, there has been a spate of violence in recent weeks. On August 21 a 16-year-old boy was shot near a shopping center, and just two days before that another man was shot just down the street from Wednesday’s shooting.

Schneider is the first Baltimore County officer killed by gunfire since 2000. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley ordered the state flag to be flown at half mast in honor of the Catonsville shooting victim.