--- description: No charges will be filed against the police officer who fatally shot Korryn Gaines title: No Charges Filed in Fatal Shooting of Korryn Gaines image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # No Charges Filed in Fatal Shooting of Korryn Gaines by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 21, 2016 8:38 PM CUT by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 21, 2016 8:38 PM CUT No charges will be filed against the police officer who fatally shot [Korryn Gaines](http://time.com/4439195/korryn-gaines-police-shooting-maryland-instagram/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), the Baltimore County State’s Attorney announced Wednesday. Gaines, 23, was [shot and killed on Aug. 1](http://time.com/4435542/baltimore-police-fatally-shoot-woman/ "undefined") after police attempted to serve her with a bench warrant after she failed to appear in court. Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger told lawyers for Gaines’s family that his office will not pursue charges for the shooting. In a [letter](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bal-document-baltimore-county-states-attorney-announces-no-charges-in-korryn-gaines-shooting-death-20160921-htmlstory.html "undefined") to the Baltimore County Police Department detailing the incident, Shellenberger wrote, “Based upon all of the circumstances, it is determined that this shooting was justified and the State will take no further action.” The police officer, identified by Baltimore County police as Officer First Class Ruby, shot Gaines because he was “fearing for his safety,” Shellenberger wrote. Gaines’s family filed a lawsuit last week, claiming Ruby shot her out of frustration, not fear, the [Baltimore _Sun_](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-co-shellenberger-gaines-20160921-story.html "undefined") reported. Ruby fatally shot Gaines after she aimed a shotgun at him and threatened to kill him, police said. Gaines had barricaded herself in her apartment with her 5-year-old son, Kodi Gaines, who was [also struck in the standoff](http://time.com/4441752/baltimore-police-shooting-korryn-gaines-instagram/ "undefined"). Kodi Gaines sustained non life-threatening injuries to his left cheek. The confrontation [went viral on Instagram](http://time.com/4439195/korryn-gaines-police-shooting-maryland-instagram/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") through videos Gaines posted and shared on her Facebook page. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4503374/korryn-gaines-shooting-no-charges/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4503374/korryn-gaines-shooting-no-charges/"},"headline":"No Charges Filed in Fatal Shooting of Korryn Gaines","datePublished":"2016-09-21T20:38:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:44:48.116Z","description":"The Baltimore County State's Attorney said the \"shooting was justified\"","url":"https://time.com/4503374/korryn-gaines-shooting-no-charges/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4503374/korryn-gaines-shooting-no-charges/","name":"No Charges Filed in Fatal Shooting of Korryn Gaines"}}]}] ```