EVENDALE, Ohio -- Police shut down Interstate 75 in both directions Tuesday afternoon after an officer shot a man armed with a knife walking along the shoulder of the highway.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office identified the man as Javier Pablo Aleman, 46. He is wanted in connection with a homicide earlier this year in Dundalk, Maryland, the sheriff's office said, and was considered a fugitive at the time of Tuesday's shooting.
The Baltimore County Police Department, which identified the suspect as Pablo Javier Aleman, said he is wanted in connection to the March 17 homicide of Victor Adolfo Serrano, 51. Serrano, who suffered from multiple stab wounds was found in a home in Dundalk. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Baltimore County officials did not release a motive for Serrano's death as of Tuesday night.
Aleman is listed in stable condition at University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He doesn't have any known connections to Greater Cincinnati, according to the sheriff's office, and will be held on the Baltimore County arrest warrant until he appears for an extradition hearing.
Police said they approached Aleman and asked if he needed a ride, which police said he ignored. At that point, authorities say, the officer -- Patrol Officer Josh Hilling, 31, of the Glendale Police Department -- exited the vehicle and exchanged words with Aleman before shots were fired by the officer.
Hamilton County Sheriff's Maj. Mike Horton told reporters at the scene Tuesday that the shooting was the result of a "very brief contact" between Hilling and Aleman.
Mary Beth Von Gries said she saw Aleman approaching the officer moments before the shooting. That officer, she said, "had his gun all held back. He was walking backwards, trying to keeping his distance from the gentleman."
"It was just bizarre, you known -- blown me totally out of the water seeing all that right there," she said.
911 calls and police scanner traffic from the incident Tuesday afternoon included witnesses describing seeing an officer seemingly involved in an apparent struggle.
Three motorists' calls to 911 have also been released. Here is a summary of text from those calls.
Caller: "There's a police officer that has someone pulled over just before Shepherd … He's hitting him."
Caller: "I think there's a policeman in trouble on 75 South … He's pointing his gun at the police car so I don't know if anyone got in it."
Caller: "I'm traveling southbound on 75 between exits 15 and 13 and there was an officer that had somebody on the side of the road. That looks like he's having a little bit of trouble."
Police said they found a knife between eight and 12 inches long near the scene of the shooting.
“I said, 'Guarantee he’ll get shot later on,' and here he got shot," Von Gries said.
@WCPO - Police say man wounded by Glendale Police Officer is male in his 40's -- possibly Hispanic pic.twitter.com/CvXx7X4UdJ
— Tom Mckee WCPO (@TMckeeWCPO) March 29, 2016
Glendale Police Chief Dave Warman said Tuesday's incident was the first time in more than 20 years that a Glendale officer has fired his or her service revolver.
