Driver’s firearm goes off during ‘squeegee kid’ struggle, Baltimore Police say
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Baltimore (WJZ) — A firearm went off during a struggle between a driver and squeegee kids Wednesday afternoon, a police report confirms.
A woman was driving down Martin Luther King Boulevard when she came to the intersection at Washington Boulevard. While she was sitting at the light, she said a group of squeegee kids surrounded her vehicle, spraying fluid all over her windshield and demanding money.
She said the group started striking her car with squeegees causing damages, saying they were being aggressive.
The woman said she couldn’t drive off without running them over, so she reached into her purse in the passenger seat and pulled out her registered firearm and sat it on her lap, telling the group to back away from her car.
One of the squeegee kids then reached into her passenger side window and grabbed her right wrist, which was holding the firearm.
After a struggle between the two, the firearm discharged into the passenger seat. Once it went off, the group ran away in different directions.
The woman then called the police and stood by until officers arrived. Detectives interviewed her and confirmed her gun permits.
No injuries were reported, police said.
Area residents had split opinions about how both sides reacted.
“When I read the article, I was like ‘I couldn’t believe they did that to the lady’s car like that,’” Shereen Matthews said. “I would have pulled my gun out too if I had one but it doesn’t get that far.”
Meanwhile, Della McNeill said the woman didn’t need to resort to pulling out her gun.
“All she had to do was do like this, I’ve seen a lot of people do to the children when they don’t want their windows washed. You couldn’t do that? Why did you have to pull a gun? You put yourself and the children in jeopardy,” she said.
City Council President Brandon Scott said he has reached out to police about the incident and is waiting for more information.
“We have to solve this issue of squeegeeing from top to bottom, try to get these young people into better circumstances and their families and also deal with it from the side of making sure people are not being assaulted as well,” he said.
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