Maryland authorities received two 911 calls on Tuesday just before 1:30 p.m. about a “ suspicious man ” who callers believed had a gun, said Colonel Woodrow Jones, the state police secretary. The first call was dropped when the operator asked for a location, while the second caller gave an address but no name, he said.
The trooper was there within minutes and confronted a man in a driveway, a preliminary investigation found. The male was “armed with a gun and a knife,” Jones said.
The person in the driveway was in a “ shooting range, ” pointing a gun at the trooper, a witness said, Jones said. The trooper shot and wounded the male, Jones added.
Then the male pulled out a knife and tried to get up, according to a second witness, Jones said. The trooper ordered him to drop the knife before firing again, Jones said.
The trooper reported the shooting and authorities offered assistance to the teen until emergency medical personnel arrived and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
His family released a statement on Wednesday saying it is heartbroken and shattered.
The statement, provided to CNN by family attorney Christopher Longmore, describes the teen as “an incredibly bright, gifted, sweet young man” who was an honorary student at Leonardtown High School.
They compared him to Alex P. Keaton’s character in the hit 1980s sitcom “Famiy Ties.”
“His love for conservative politics has always been at the center of his lively debates at the family table,” the statement read.
According to the statement, Peyton hoped to become a politician one day.
A typical airsoft gun uses a spring or compressed air to propel air that propels around plastic granules. The toy replica guns are designed to be non-lethal and can be used for mock shooting events such as team events or law enforcement or military training.
The involved trooper, who was not identified, was not injured and has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, Jones said. The trooper has been with the state police for two years and seven months, he said.
The Maryland State Police’s homicide division is conducting a criminal investigation, which is standard procedure in all shootings involving soldiers, Jones said.
“There are a lot of questions that we don’t have answers to at this point in the study,” he said. “However, we are committed to conducting a thorough investigation to determine what happened.”
Once the criminal investigation is completed, it will be submitted to the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for review, Jones said, adding that the deputy state attorney was on the scene and was briefed by investigators.
The Maryland State Police Department of Internal Affairs will conduct an administrative inquiry, which is also a procedure, he said.