Man dies in shootout with guardsman
Police say off-duty airman trying to defuse situation at Golden Dragon Bar and Grill in Baltimore County
A man was killed in an exchange of gunfire with an off-duty member of the Maryland Air National Guard in the parking lot of the Golden Dragon bar and restaurant in Windsor Mill early Friday, Baltimore County police said.
Another man was also injured in the shooting — though it was unclear who shot him, police said. The airman, who the National Guard identified as Senior Airman Keith M. Luckey, was not injured, police said.
County police spokesman Cpl. Shawn Vinson said police were called to the Golden Dragon Bar and Grill in the 8100 block of Liberty Road for reports of gunfire just before 2 a.m.
Luckey was inside the restaurant whenhe noticed a group of people arguing in the back parking lot, Vinson said. According to police, Luckey walked up to the group to try to deescalate the argument when he noticed a man had a handgun.
Luckey, who had a gun permit, ordered the man to drop the handgun, and when he refused, Luckey fired his gun several times, Vinson said. The man fired back, Vinson said.
The manwas struck several times. Hewas taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police identified him Friday afternoon as Jerome Dewitt Garrison, 36, of the Irvington area.
Garrison’s family could not immediately be reached for comment.
Maj. Kurt M. Rauschenberg, a Maryland National Guard spokesman, said that Luckey is a member of the 175th Security Forces Squadron, which is tasked with “ensuring the safety of the people, property and resources on an Air Force base.” He joined the Maryland Air National Guard in 2013, and was deployed to Kuwait from July 2018 until January.
Luckey has a private security company registered in Maryland called American Professional Security, and is a certified handgun instructor in the state, according to a website for the company, which Rauschenberg confirmed belongs to Luckey.
Rauschenberg referred all other questions to county police. Luckey could not immediately be reached for comment.
Luckey describes himself on the website as a “[h]ard working, ambitious, creative, accomplished police officer and fire fighter professional with over 5 years of dedicated service to the U.S. Air Force.”
The website says his experience as a member of the 175th Security Forces Squadron has included responding to active shooter situations and securing crime scenes. It says he is currently responsible for “crime prevention, criminal investigations, and other matters relating to the physical security of” the Warfield Air National Guard base in Middle River.
During the shooting, a 32-year-old man was struck in his upper body by gunfire, Vinson said. It is not clear who shot the man or if he was involved in the argument. The man was treated at an area hospital and released.
Thursday was just a “normal party night,” said Sunnah Bilal, who’s worked as a server at the Golden Dragon for more than two years. She didn’t see any altercations inside, but said the bar was rowdy and noisy, and a DJ was playing loud music.
Staff were inside preparing to close the restaurant when the shooting occurred, Bilal said.
“The police were out there before we knew anything,” she said. “We didn’t have a clue.”
A neighbor who lives close to the Golden Dragon, who declined to provide his name out of safety concerns, awoke to the sound of gunshots last night. He said the bar’s patrons have previously caused problems for the neighborhood.
“They throw trash all over the place, they speed down the street, they fight,” the neighbor said. “They totaled my truck parked here.”
The owner of the Golden Dragon couldn’t be reached for comment.