A 36-year-old man was killed in East Baltimore on Friday afternoon by a gunman who also fired at a patrol officer, police said.

Area commander Lt. Col. Dan Lioi said the officer was traveling south in the 1200 block of N. Luzerne Ave. in a marked vehicle when he saw a man run around the corner and fire a handgun at someone.

The gunman saw the officer and fired at least one shot in his direction.

The officer "said he couldn't return fire because there were other people in the block and he was afraid he could shoot an innocent person," Lioi said. The officer, who Lioi said has spent about five years on the force, chased the gunman but lost him.

The victim, who was not immediately identified, was shot multiple times and died at an area hospital. Police did not offer a motive or a description of the shooter.

Police had already boosted patrols around the Berea neighborhood after a previous shooting, Lioi said.

Earlier in the week, officers were two blocks north when a man was fatally stabbed on Greenmount Avenue. Lioi said there was a recent robbery in the 2600 block of Aisquith St., and officers on Thursday night arrested someone in that block with a gun. Earlier in the week, in the Southwestern District, officers arrested a suspect after they happened upon him robbing a Morrell Park restaurant.

Lioi said he believes such proximity shows officers are in the right areas.

Of the officer being fired upon, he said, "It's another example of how dangerous the job is, and the unknown dangers our officers face."

Police on Friday also identified a man shot to death Thursday afternoon in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood as 30-year-old Devlon Cates Jr. Cates was sitting in the driver's seat of a vehicle in the 1500 block of E. 29th St. about 1:30 p.m. The driver's side window had been shot out.

Anyone with information about the cases was asked to call homicide detectives at 410-396-2100.