Police Brutality / Individual record
Korryn Gaines
The Washington Post's Fatal Force database records Korryn Gaines in a fatal on-duty police shooting on 2016-08-01 in Randallstown, MD. Individual circumstances and legal outcome require case-specific review.
- Record ID
- PB-491
- Incident date
- August 1, 2016
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Location
- Randallstown, MD
- Agency
- Baltimore County Police Department
- Category
- Fatal on-duty police shooting
- Age (reported)
- 23
What happened
Korryn Gaines, 23, was killed by Baltimore County Corporal Royce Ruby during a six-hour standoff at her Randallstown apartment on August 1, 2016. Police came to serve warrants and found Gaines with a shotgun; her five-year-old son Kodi was inside. Police said she aimed the weapon at them, prompting gunfire that killed her and wounded Kodi. Her family disputed whether the initial shot was justified. A 2018 jury awarded about $38 million, but a judge set aside the verdict; an appellate court later reversed that decision. Baltimore County reached a $3 million settlement for Gaines's estate in 2021, while legal claims involving Kodi were described as separate. The earlier verdict was not a $38 million payment.
Investigation & findings
Individual legal and investigative outcome not yet reviewed.
Washington Post Fatal Force v2; 2015–2024
Source record details
- Source incident ID
- 1750
- Race code in source
- B
- Race source method
- not_available
- Gender (source)
- female
- Armed status (source)
- gun
- Flee status (source)
- not
- Agency IDs (source)
- 128
Sources & records
- Primary source
- Additional source
- Methodology and national police killings trackingMapping Police Violence · Dataset/methodology
- Fatal Force v2 — fatal on-duty police shootings, 2015–2024The Washington Post · Dataset