Election officials said the contractor was unharmed and all ballots being collected from an Erdman Avenue drop box were recovered and secured.
BALTIMORE — A Baltimore City Board of Elections contractor retrieving ballots from an Erdman Avenue drop box escaped injury Thursday when gunfire struck the contractor’s vehicle during a nearby police shooting, election officials said.
The contractor was collecting ballots from a drop box at 3801 Erdman Ave. when the shooting unfolded near the Erdman Shopping Center. Baltimore Elections Director Clifford Tatum described the contractor as an innocent bystander. The Board of Elections later retrieved the ballots that had been in the contractor’s possession and secured them, officials said.
The contractor’s vehicle was damaged by gunfire, but officials reported no injury to the worker and no damage to the ballots. The episode placed an election operation in the middle of an unrelated police encounter on the first day of Maryland’s early voting period, although election officials said the ballots remained secure.
The gunfire stemmed from a confrontation between a Baltimore police officer and a man shortly after 12:15 p.m. in the 3900 block of Erdman Avenue, police said. The officer was working a crime suppression operation in a marked vehicle when he approached the man and began speaking with him, according to Chief of Patrol Col. Ryan Lee.
Police said the man ran after the officer got out of the vehicle and approached him on foot. The officer chased him, and police said the man then produced a semiautomatic handgun and pointed it at the officer. The officer fired multiple rounds, critically wounding the man. A firearm was recovered at the scene, police said.
The wounded man was taken to a hospital in critical condition after responding officers provided medical aid. Police had not publicly identified him but said they believed he was an adult. The officer was not injured. Authorities had not said whether the man fired his weapon or explained what prompted the officer’s initial approach.
The ballot drop box is at the Herring Run Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 3801 Erdman Ave. The area also includes businesses and a child care center, adding to concerns about the midday shooting in a place regularly used by residents. Police closed parts of Erdman Avenue while investigators processed the scene.
The Board of Elections’ response focused on accounting for and securing the ballots that were being transported when the shooting occurred. Officials said all ballots in the contractor’s possession were recovered by the board. No report reviewed Friday indicated that ballots were lost or compromised as a result of the gunfire.
The underlying police shooting remains under investigation. Baltimore police said body-worn camera footage was reviewed and showed the man pointing a weapon toward the officer before the officer fired. The Maryland Attorney General’s office was notified as authorities began the independent review of the police use of force.
Election officials had not reported any broader disruption to ballot collection because of the incident as of Friday. The contractor remained uninjured, the ballots were secured and investigators continued examining the circumstances of the shooting near the drop box.
Author note: Last updated October 23, 2026.