A soldier from the Rochester area is recovering from gunshot wounds in a Maryland hospital. He didn’t suffer the wounds in battle, police shot him during an apparent confrontation.
The US Army says Private Evan Parker, 22, of Pittsford was AWOL, Absent Without Leave, since August. He joined the military about five months ago. After two months of basic training, he was assigned to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The Army says Parker joined the military to become an army mechanic.
Aberdeen Maryland Police were called to a motel Sunday night for a disturbance call. When they got there, they came across Parker. When police found out he was AWOL, they took him back to the Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The next morning, police were called to the motel again, this time for a report of a suspicious person. They say Parker had left the Aberdeen Proving Ground again. Guests had complained Parker was knocking on doors at the motel.
As an officer approached Parker, they say Parker displayed a gun. Police told Parker to drop the gun. They say instead, he waved it at the officer. The officer then fired several shots, hitting Parker in the abdomen, the leg, and upper chest.
“The officer reacted per his training, there is no question about that. When you are confronted with potentially deadly force, you react with deadly force,” says Sergeant Fred Budnick, Aberdeen Police Department.
The Army would not comment on why Parker left the Army without leave. A spokesperson for the Aberdeen Proving Ground says it is rare for a soldier to go AWOL.
“Young men and young women sometimes have a mind of their own. They make choices that are not beneficial to themselves or their military career,” says Aberdeen Proving Ground Spokesperson, George Mercer.
Parker is now in stable condition at the University of Maryland Shock and Trauma Center. Aberdeen Police say, while Parker was being taken to the hospital, he told them and the medical personnel, he wanted police to shoot him. The army would not comment about that.
The weapon that Parker had during the confrontation with police turned out to be a non-lethal weapon, similar to a BB-gun. Aberdeen Police say there is no indication the officer knew it was non-lethal.
