(Photo by Elvert Barnes)

A Maryland man shot two police officers on Wednesday when they barged into his home, believing it to be the residence of a drug dealer.

The man was home with his daughter just before 10 p.m. when the police began trying to enter the apartment, Prince George’s County Police Chief Henry Stawinski said at a press conference on Thursday. The man, believing it was a home invasion, fired one shot at police when the officers managed to pry the door open, Stawinski said.

As soon as the man realized police had been on the other side of the door, he immediately dropped his weapon and surrendered. He was taken into custody uninjured Wednesday night, Stawinski said.

“You’ve got the wrong address. Don’t shoot my daughter. Don’t shoot my daughter,” the man told officers, according to Stawinski.

Stawinski said his officers had gotten a tip from a confidential informant that a drug dealer lived at that address. The officers worked to corroborate the information provided by the informant, “however, we did not draw the right conclusion,” Stawinski said.

Stawinski stressed that the officers did serve the warrant on the address they had identified through their investigation—but the investigation led them to the wrong address.

The shot the man fired injured two police officers. One was treated and released, and the other had to get surgery for an injury to his arm, Stawinski said.

Stawinski said the man will not be charged criminally for his actions.

“He did not know there were police officers attempting to enter his residence. I believe that and I know that to be true,” the chief said. “The individual acted to protect himself and protect his daughter from what he believed to be a threat of home invasion.”

Stawinski said his investigation into the matter corroborated officers’ claims that they had identified themselves at the door. However, he also believes the man did not hear them announce themselves, he said. The man and his daughter had fallen asleep in front of the television, and did not hear the police announce themselves, Stawinski says.

Stawinksi has issued a moratorium on the serving of all search warrants in Prince George’s County until they’ve all been vetted thoroughly to ensure this doesn’t happen again, he said at the press conference. He expects this moratorium to last 24-48 hours.

Stawinski commended the professionalism of the officers, saying they carried out their duties even as their fellow officers became injured.

One officer fired a shot into the home. The department identified the officer as Cpl. Daniel Siculietano in a news release. No one was struck by his weapon.

Stawinski said he is not ruling out disciplinary measures for people in the department or structural changes to the way the department corroborates information to obtain warrants.

“I am very proud of this institution, but I also want to make it clear that in immediately surrendering, and abiding by the orders of those officers, this individual further demonstrated his concerns for his daughter,” Stawinski said. The man’s actions contributed to Stawinski’s conclusion that “his action was not an intentional criminal act to fire upon police officers.”