State trooper fatally shoots man in Harford Co.

State trooper fatally shoots man in Harford Co.

3:37 PM EST, December 1, 2008
A Maryland State Police trooper fatally shot a Harford County man early this morning after he broke into a relative's home, made threats about having a weapon and fought with officers, a state police spokesman said.

The man, identified by police as John Abbate, was a 52-year-old Harford County resident, said spokesman Greg Shipley.

Two Harford County sheriff's deputies and a state trooper responded to a 911 call shortly after 4:30 a.m. from a home on the 2700 block of Lakeland Drive in Fallston, Shipley said.

The homeowner said that his sister's husband, who was having domestic problems, had broken into his home, the spokesman said. Abbate said he had a gun in his car and allegedly threatened to kill the homeowner's wife, Shipley said.

Approximate location of fatal shooting Map
When officers arrived, Abbate refused to respond to instructions to remove his hand from his pocket and lunged at them, the spokesman said.

They used both a Taser and an expandable baton to try to subdue Abbate, who was 6 feet tall and weighed 300 pounds, but those methods had no effect, Shipley said. He also threw the trooper into a computer table, he said.

Abbate was on top of one of the deputies, choking him and trying to get his gun, when the trooper — identified as Sean Harri — shot him, Shipley said.

Both the state police homicide unit as well as internal affairs were investigating the incident, he said.

Harris was being evaluated for non-life-threatening injuries and was placed on administrative leave, the spokesman said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.