News Releases

Update: Officer-Involved Shooting at Domestic-Related Barricade

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Update: July 26, 2018: John Carlos Natera-Perez succumbed to his injuries yesterday evening.  His body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in Baltimore for an autopsy.

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Detectives from the Major Crimes Division continue to investigate a domestic-related barricade situation and officer-involved shooting of the suspect that occurred at a townhouse in the Fairland area last night.

The officer involved in the shooting is identified as Officer Edward Cochran, an eight-year veteran of the police department who is currently assigned to the Tactical Unit (SWAT Team).  He is on administrative leave per department protocol.

John Carlos Natera-Perez, also known as Jean Perez, who is 30 years old, of an unconfirmed address, is in grave condition and is not expected to survive.

On Monday, July 23, at approximately 7:57 p.m., 3^rd District officers responded to the report of an assault at a townhouse in the 2800 block of Mozart Drive in the Fairland area. The first call to 911 was reported to be a woman screaming. The call taker heard a male voice state, “I will kill you,” and the line was then disconnected.

As the first officer arrived, he observed Mr. Perez standing in the townhome doorway, with blood on his clothing and holding a knife.  The officer called for Mr. Perez to exit the home.  Mr. Perez stepped back into the residence and shut the front door. A female, later identified as a resident of the home and Mr. Perez' ex-girlfriend, was standing outside in front the house.  She immediately advised the officer that her three-year-old son was upstairs in his bedroom.  The female further stated that Mr. Perez had entered the residence, confronted the woman and her boyfriend, and assaulted them before the two were able to flee from the home.  Officers also learned from the female that Mr. Perez was the father of the child in the residence.

Officers attempted to make contact with Mr. Perez, but these efforts were unsuccessful. The Emergency Response Team (ERT) was called to the scene at approximately 8:08 p.m.  Once ERT members arrived, negotiators contacted Mr. Perez via a loud speaker in English and in Spanish, instructing him to exit the home and/or release the 3-year-old child. Although Mr. Perez made some verbal responses, he refused to exit the home and refused to release the child.  These negotiations continued for more than an hour.

During this time, officers observed Mr. Perez using furniture to barricade doors and windows inside the home. Officers also saw Mr. Perez writing on the windows using what appeared to be blood on his fingers.

At approximately 10:15 p.m., officers observed Mr. Perez light something on fire and throw it out a second-floor bedroom window onto the ground below.  Several minutes later, the child was heard screaming.  Mr. Perez then began to light clothing in the home on fire.  Smoke was observed coming from the bedroom and the townhome's smoke alarms began to sound.  Tactical team supervisors made the decision to enter the home due to concern for the child's welfare. During this tactical operation, Perez was shot while he was in the master bedroom.  Officers were then able to get to the second floor of the house where they located the child unharmed on the bed in the master bedroom.  Officers found a knife with blood on it on the bed.  The child was taken from the home by tactical officers.  Officers and Fire & Rescue personnel administered life-saving efforts on Mr. Perez and he was transported to a local hospital in grave condition.

A search of the home revealed charred clothing in two areas of the second floor. A flammable liquid and three lighters were located in the master bedroom.

Further investigation by detectives, to include a review of court documents, has revealed a history of prior domestic violence between the suspect and female victim.  According to the victim, this violence occurred as recently as three weeks ago when she and the son were both assaulted by Mr. Perez.

This investigation is ongoing. As more information is able to be confirmed, it will be released.

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Release ID: 18-303
Media Contact: mcpnews 
Categories: assault, barricade, death-investigation, domestic-related, shooting