A drug-dealing shooting victim will face charges when he is released from the hospital. Baltimore County police said Thursday that one of Tuesday’s double shooting victims in Middle River is a “major drug dealer.”
State Del. Ric Metzgar organized a community meeting at Victory Villa Baptist Church. The meeting was an opportunity for the police to give updates on the case.
An online video showed an automatic was used in the attack, which caused the case to receive additional attention.
“When this tragedy happened the other day, the violence in our community it seemed like it went to another height,” Metzgar said. “Then I saw the video and the machine gun, obviously. … Our area has never ever experienced anything like that.”
Baltimore County police Capt. Eliot Latchaw gave the updated status of the investigation. The gunman is still on the loose while the injured female passenger will face charges as well, he said.
“The video that went out obviously is shocking. It won’t sugarcoat that. We do not see violence like that very often out here,” Latchaw said. “But we do not play around when it comes to investigating crime, especially of this magnitude.”
The shooting was intentional, Latchaw explained to the meeting participants.
“This was not an innocent victim. I can tell you with 100% positivity and assuredness that he is a major drug dealer,” Latchaw said. “There was a reason this happened.”
Although not a resident, the male victim was in town because of a hearing at the local traffic court, Latchaw said.
Police have not identified the victims.
Reports of a shooting at Compass Road and Martin Boulevard at about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday caused Baltimore County police to be called. When they arrived, officers found a 43-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman inside a black SUV with multiple gunshot wounds.
In the video, an SUV is shown crashed into a pole at the intersection of Compass Road and Martin Boulevard when a white car pulls up. The audio depicts rapid gunfire that appears to come from the white car.
The driver-side window and front and back doors had about 20 bullet holes.
Video sent to me of shooting this afternoon in Middle River (busy commercial area, Compass Road at Martin Boulevard). Automatic gunfire, which anecdotally seems to be on the rise pic.twitter.com/23m0oK6zKo
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) July 26, 2022