State investigators identify man fatally shot by officers at Gaithersburg bus stop
Rockville resident reportedly raised a handgun in the direction of police before they opened fire, killing him
By
Ceoli JacobyJuly 14, 2026 8:20 p.m.
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State investigators on Tuesday evening identified Elliott Powers, 46, of Rockville as the man who was fatally shot by police at a Gaithersburg bus stop Sunday evening after police allege he raised a handgun in the direction of officers who were attempting to de-escalate the situation.
County and Gaithersburg city police officers responded at approximately 6:45 p.m. Sunday to a bus stop in the 9600 block of Lost Knife Road for a report of an armed man, according to a Tuesday press release from the Independent Investigations Division of the state Office of the Attorney General.
A preliminary investigation indicated officers spoke Powers for several minutes before firing their service weapons, according to the Tuesday release. Officers rendered medical aid to Powers until emergency medical services arrived, but he died at the scene from his injuries.
It remains unclear how many times police shot Powers, but officers from both agencies fired their weapons, county police spokesperson Cody Fields said during a Sunday night press conference at the scene. No officers or bystanders were injured in the shooting.
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During Sunday’s press conference, Fields said the man now identified as Powers “took actions which forced the officers to discharge their service weapons.”
County and Gaithersburg police described the lead-up to the shooting in greater detail on Tuesday, stating in a joint press release that Powers “racked the slide on the handgun” he was carrying while in view of officers.
Powers then “raised the handgun he was holding in the direction of an officer” who had been attempting to resolve the situation “peacefully,” according to the joint press release. Police later recovered a handgun nearby.
State investigators on Tuesday also identified the officers involved in the shooting, all of whom will be on administrative leave during the investigation, Fields said Sunday.
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County police involved in the shooting include Michael Wengloski, Andrew Hanko and Robert Bullock. The officers have been with the department for 12, eight and seven years, respectively, according to state investigators.
Gaithersburg police involved in the shooting include Noah Whelan, Carissa Fortin and Christopher Leach. Officers Whelan and Fortin have been with the department for five and eight years, respectively. Leach, a sergeant, has been with the department for 14.
According to state investigators, officers involved in the shooting were equipped with body-worn cameras.
The investigations division’s protocol states that body-worn camera footage and dashboard camera footage related to investigations are generally to be released within 20 business days after the incident, though “there may be situations where more than 20 business days are necessary.”
Those situations include, but are not limited to, technical delays caused by the need to shield the identities of civilian witnesses or to allow family members to view the footage before it is made public, according to the protocol.
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Investigators are asking anyone with information about Sunday’s shooting, including cell phone or private surveillance video, to contact the investigations division by calling (410) 576–7070 or emailing IID@oag.maryland.gov.
Prior to Sunday’s shooting, there was one open investigation into a death involving Montgomery County police officers.
Jamal Thompson, 31, of Silver Spring, died in late December one week after police transferred him from their custody into the care of a local hospital. Thompson is believed to have been experiencing a mental health episode at the time of his encounter with officers.
County police spokesperson Shiera Goff previously told Bethesda Today that none of the seven officers who interacted with Thompson the night he was taken into custody were placed on leave during the investigation into his death.
The Attorney General’s Office in March released body-worn camera footage of the incident, which took place in the lobby of an apartment complex on Mount Pisgah Road in Silver Spring. The investigation into Thompson’s death was still active as of Tuesday evening.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine