Residents in a quiet Maryland community are still in shock over a police shooting that killed a 23-year-old man who reportedly stabbed his brother with a double-edged spear on Monday, June 9.

Howard County Police shot Micah Booker, 23, along Oakland Mills Road in Columbia after he allegedly disobeyed orders and approached an officer with a spear, which was recovered at the scene.

Meanwhile, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division (IID) is piecing together what instigated the stabbing and the shooting. The IID is the primary investigator for police shootings in the state.

Police said Booker's 26-year-old brother was stabbed multiple times in a home on Wilbur Court before he called 911. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Police shooting in Maryland neighborhood

Residents said Wilbur Court in the Guilford Square neighborhood is a quiet community. They said it was shocking when the community was filled with police on Monday night.

Resident Paul Pardoe said he has seen social services and police visit the home several times where the brothers live. However, he said there was nothing to suggest one would be a stabbing victim and the other shot by officers. 

"Those people have really been no problem to the neighborhood, not noisy or any of that kind of stuff," Pardoe said. "Stuff happens, you know."

Police said the 26-year-old called 911 around 7:24 p.m. Monday, saying his younger brother stabbed him at their home in the 9200 block of Wilbur Court.

Micah Booker called 911 himself minutes later, admitting to the stabbing. Officers found him nearby in the intersection of Oakland Mills Road and Carters Lane, armed with a double-edged spear.

Police said Booker approached one of the officers, who then drew his gun and ordered the suspect to drop the spear.

The officer fired when he didn't comply. The involved officer has been identified as two-year Howard County Police Department veteran Michael McKee, according to the IID.

Family violence shocks neighbors

Several neighbors told WJZ their hearts go out to the suspect and the victim's family.

Lena Carter, who lives near Wilbur Court, said she was very surprised to hear the suspect and victim are brothers.

"Brother to attack brother is just unheard of," Carter said. "I've had brothers of my own, I can't imagine that."

Pardoe said the domestic dispute of his neighbors hit home, especially because he's recently lost family. His wife died three months ago.

"It's tough watching this stuff and families having problems like that," Pardoe said. "I can't imagine what the family's going through. Obviously, they were going through stuff before this, now look at it. What a mess."

• Howard County