What’s New
One person was killed and nine others injured in what local police declared a mass shooting in Towson, Baltimore, on Tuesday night.
The majority of the nine wounded victims were transported to trauma centers with gunshot wounds, Baltimore County Police said in a statement.
It isn’t yet clear who carried out the shooting or what the motive was. Newsweek has contacted Baltimore County Police via email outside of normal working hours for comment.
Why It Matters
It comes less than a month after two people were killed and two others were injured in a Thanksgiving mass shooting in San Antonio, Texas.
There have been more than 490 mass shootings across the U.S. so far this year, as of December 18, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are injured or killed.
What to Know
The first officer to arrive at the scene discovered a vehicle in flames, on its side, near a funeral home, before finding several victims, Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said in a news briefing.
“There appears to be some type of incident that led to the vehicle crashing and catching on fire,” he said. “Investigators are looking into the circumstances leading up to that.
“We will leave no stone unturned and we will dedicate every resource to this. We don’t generally see incidents like this in our community in Baltimore County. I assure you as your police chief that we will put all resources toward trying to clear this case.”
Investigators believe the shooting was an isolated incident and do not think there is any further threat to the community.
AP
What People Are Saying
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski said: “This is an incident that is shocking, particularly for those of us in Baltimore County. These types of incidents are unheard of here, so it really shocks the conscience.
“However, we want our residents to know that we are, as always, fully committed to ensuring that both our fire and police departments have the full support and all the resources they need from the Baltimore County government to ensure that they bring this investigation to a conclusion.”
What Happens Next
Detectives have offered a cash reward of up to $2,000 in exchange for information about Tuesday night’s violence. You can get in touch anonymously via Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-756-2587 (7LOCKUP) or through the Baltimore County Police Department’s iWATCH program.
