Baltimore detective dies after being shot in head

A Baltimore police detective who was shot in the head while investigating a murder Wednesday afternoon has died from his injuries, authorities said.

Detective Sean Suiter was canvassing a neighborhood in West Baltimore with a partner when the attack unfolded just after 4 p.m. The 43-year-old officer, who was an 18-year veteran with department, was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where died from his wounds just after noon on Thursday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

He leaves behind his wife Nicole and their two children.

Suiter was investigating a murder in the West Harlem neighborhood and approached a man, who had reportedly been acting suspiciously, just after 4 p.m. The suspect, who is still at large, opened fire and fatally struck the detective before fleeing.

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said Wednesday night that Suiter “was just doing his job on behalf of this city. And that’s what he’s been doing for 18 years.”

Suiter first joined the city’s homicide unit in 2015 after a stint in the city-wide shooting unit, which investigates non-fatal shootings.

In an email to the department obtained by the Sun, Davis reminded the Baltimore Police officers and staff the importance of their work in the city.

“Each of you go out there and put your lives on the line every day,” he wrote. “The importance of your sacrifice, and Sean’s, can’t be overstated.”