Bladensburg Man Shot By Police in Silver Spring Had Fake Gun

A 22-year-old Bladensburg man who suffered a fatal gunshot wound at the hands of police Monday morning was toting a fake gun, police said.

Tracy Woodfork of Bladensburg called 911 early Monday from outside of a Silver Spring home, police said. Police report that he told the 911 operator that he wanted to die. He said he had a gun and that he wanted police to kill him, officer Rebecca Innocenti, a spokesperson for the department, said. 

Using cell phone records and contacting Woodfork's family, 911 personnel were able to locate the man from the call, she said. 

Patrol officers responded to the 9500 block of Woodland Drive and found a man with a gun in a stairwell outside of the home, police said. The man was asked to put down his gun and leave the stairwell, police said. Innocenti said Woodfork’s 23-year-old girlfriend was inside the home with three children.

Police said the home belonged to a babysitting client of Woodfork's girlfriend.

After getting the woman and children outside of the home, police officers engaged with Woodfork, police reported. He began to walk up from the stairwell with the firearm, which detectives later said was fake, police said.

There was an "encounter" between Woodfork and police and at 5:03 a.m. the man was shot by one of the officers, according to police. Details of the encounter were not available because the incident was under investigation, according to Innocenti. 

Woodfork died at a local hospital Monday. 

The officers involved in the shooting were placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure, Innocenti said. 

The shooting is under investigation by Major Crimes and the department's Internal Affairs.