On the evening of February 24, 2026, a 37-year-old man named Dwight Hawkins died in Baltimore, Maryland, following a confrontation with police. The incident began around 6:15 p.m. in the 3600 block of Belair Road, inside a liquor store in the Belair-Edison neighborhood. Officers from the Baltimore Police Department's Group Violence Unit, who were patrolling the area due to high crime rates, noticed Hawkins and believed he was armed.
According to police accounts, when Hawkins exited the
store, officers approached him. He then fled, prompting a foot chase. Authorities state that during the pursuit, officers repeatedly commanded Hawkins to show his hands and that he was seen with a gun. The chase ended when Hawkins encountered a second officer, at which point two officers, identified as six-year veteran Arthur Fuog and seven-year veteran Omar Rodriguez, fired their weapons. Hawkins was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police reported recovering a handgun near him and noted that due to prior charges, Hawkins was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The family of Dwight Hawkins has publicly disputed the police narrative. They believe he was targeted due to his criminal history and insist he was not a threat to the officers. His family, including his aunt Lorraine Hawkins and cousin Chante Fenner, have stated that they do not believe a firearm was in his hand during the chase, and if he did have one, he never pulled it out or pointed it at the officers. They have described the shooting as unjustified and an "execution," questioning the number of times he was shot. His family has also said that while he had a past, he had turned his life around for his three children, had moved out of Baltimore City to Hagerstown, and was employed at a downtown Baltimore hotel.
In the aftermath of the shooting, both Officer Fuog and Officer Rodriguez were placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure. The Maryland Attorney General's Office has launched an investigation into the fatal shooting. This was not the first police-involved shooting for Officer Rodriguez, who was involved in the death of Bilal Abdullah in June of the previous year. The Baltimore Police Department released body-camera footage of the incident on February 28, 2026. The footage shows the officers following Hawkins out of the store, the subsequent chase, and Hawkins pulling a handgun before being shot. The family held a protest on the day the footage was released, calling for justice and accountability. They have also raised concerns about the delay in ambulance arrival and the lack of information provided to them about which hospital he was taken to. The investigation by the Maryland Attorney General's office is ongoing.
