A Baltimore police officer has died after being removed from life support one week after she was ambushed while sitting in her patrol car....
A Baltimore police officer has died after being removed from life support one week after she was ambushed while sitting in her patrol car.
Officer Keona Holley, 39, was in southern Baltimore on December 16 when she was shot in the head at around 1:30am.
The mother of four, who joined the police department two years ago, was working an overtime shift at the time.
The Baltimore Police Department said on Thursday that her health had been deteriorating in recent days and the family made the difficult decision to end life support. She died shortly thereafter.
Two men - Elliot Knox, 31, and Travon Shaw, 32 - have been arrested and charged in her shooting, and a second shooting soon afterward that left a man dead.
Keona Holley, who joined the Baltimore police force two years ago, died on Friday after her family decided to switch her life support machine off
Elliott Knox (left) and Travon Shaw have been arrested and charged with the murder of Holley and a second victim, Justin Johnson, who was shot shortly after, 10 miles away
Officers are seen responding to the scene in the Curtis Bay area of Baltimore on December 16, where Holley was ambushed
After Holley's shooting, police allege the two men went to a southwest Baltimore neighborhood about 10 miles away and shot and killed 38-year-old Justin Johnson.
Holley is the first officer to be shot in the line of duty in Baltimore since 2017
Knox said that Johnson had been killed because he owed money to Travon Shaw.
Knox told police that Shaw carried out both shootings.
But detectives wrote in charging documents obtained by The Baltimore Sun that shell casings from two different types of firearms were used, and that video showed both men approaching the area where Holley was shot.
At least seven people have been killed in Baltimore since Holley and Johnson were shot.
Holley, while in police academy, explained her reasons for joining the force, after a job in a state psychiatric facility.
'I didn't want to be a Baltimore police officer before. I feel like Baltimore City police officers have a bad name about themselves,' Holley said.
'We have to change that, and change it together. The community needs Baltimore City police officers that's not just here for a paycheck. They're here because they care.'
Holley said that she joined the force because she wanted to make a difference to her community
Her sister, Lawanda Sykes, said last week that Holley loved the city.
'She left out of that house every day and dug her feet into the dirt to serve this city,' Sykes said.
The mayor, Brandon Scott, paid tribute to Holley.
'Baltimore will never forget Officer Holley's sacrifice and commitment to making a difference in her beloved city,' he said.
'I ask that everyone please keep Officer Holley's family in your prayers as they endure the holiday season without their mother, daughter, sister and loyal friend.'
Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said his prayers were with Holley's family and coworkers, adding that he thanks her and the entire police community for their 'commitment, service and sacrifice.'
Holley is the first member of Baltimore PD to be shot and killed in the city since 2017, when Detective Sean Suiter died.
He was shot the day before a planned grand jury appearance related to the Gun Trace Task Force corruption scandal.
An external review found he shot himself, the paper reported, but his family and attorney insist he did not take his own life. The case remains classified as a homicide.
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