A home-invasion suspect died Monday night after a Baltimore police officer struck him with a Taser gun.

However, the medical examiner has yet to rule on a cause of death.

Baltimore police responded at about 8 p.m. to a call about a home invasion on Asquith Street.

The suspect — whom police have not yet identified — barricaded himself in an upstairs bedroom and began acting erratically, police said.

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Officers attempted to talk him out of the room, but he refused, causing them to enter, police spokesman Matt Jablow said.

The suspect then began punching and kicking officers, and one officer fired a Taser, striking the man, he said.

The man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, apparently from a heart attack, Jablow said. The use of Tasers, a type of stungun, has been an issue for police and politicians in Howard and Anne Arundel counties this year.

Anne Arundel residents called for police to purchase the less lethal weapons after a series of police-involved shootings. A decision has not yet been made.

The Howard County Council recently approved the use of Tasers for the county police after weeks of debate.

Autopsy results are pending in two other cases in which people died after a Taser was used on them this spring. Police said Uywanda Peterson, 43, of Baltimore City, attacked a city narcotics officer “without provocation” during a narcotics investigation on Belair Road, causing the officer to strike her in the chest with a Taser during the attack. Baltimore County police said Ryan Lee Meyers, 40, of Middle River, died after being shocked with the device.

lbroadwater@baltimoreexaminer.com