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Police: Knife-wielding Essex man shot, killed by Baltimore County officers

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Crime Scene
Posted at 5:14 PM, May 04, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-06 17:26:36-04

ESSEX, Md. — A knife-wielding Essex man was shot in the chest by Baltimore County Police after he charged after officers Wednesday, police said.

The man, identified by police as 39-year-old Ralph Picarello III, died at the home in the 900 block of Boundbrook Way.

Officers were called to the home around 4 p.m. for a domestic violence call.

Essex man shot and killed by Baltimore County officers during domestic call

A 911 caller said the man inside the home was throwing items at a family member.

Police said the while officers were inside the home, Picarello picked up two knifes.

Officers told the man to drop the knives, but he did not, and quickly charged at the officers with the knives, according to police.

Police said one officer used their taser and two officers fired shots, hitting the man. Picarello died at the scene.

The officers were identified as D. Manning and E. Pellegrino. Manning has been with the department for 1 1/2 years while Pellegrino has been with the department for 11 months.

Neighbors describe Picarello as being around 40 years old.

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Family and neighbors told WMAR-2 he died inside his home from three gunshot wounds.

Those two officers were wearing body-worn camera at the time.

"We’re still in the early stages, so I can't provide any detail on what video the video shows at this time, but we will attempt to release that within 14 days, pending that we're able to complete some preliminary things in our investigation," said Thomas Lester, from the Maryland Attorney General's Office.

This is the second police-involved shooting that took place in Baltimore County this year.

READ MORE: 'It’s a little disheartening': Police shoot driver after attempting to ram officers arresting murder suspects

Court records suggest Picarello allegedly assaulted a man by punching him in the face on St. Fabian Lane in December.

That case was scheduled for trial next week.

It’s the same block where a woman filed for a protection order against him three months later claiming he had assaulted her and her teenage daughter.

In the petition for that order, she claimed he had stalked her, used drugs in her home and she characterized him as being ‘beyond dangerous’.

She also wrote that he either owned or had access to illegal firearms.