Two more suspects arrested in Brooklyn mass shooting
Four facing charges as city leaders emphasize accountability
Authorities arrested two more suspects, an 18-year-old and a 14-year-old, as part of the Baltimore Police investigation of the mass shooting at Brooklyn Homes in early July that killed two and injured 28 others.
News of the arrests comes a day after city officials released an after-action report that detailed the various failures of police and other agencies in the lead-up to Brooklyn Day, an annual community block party at a public housing complex in South Baltimore. This year’s event drew close to 1,000 people, but police did not provide any staffing or security, despite the department’s social media unit learning about it three days ahead of time.
The pair of arrests brings the total number of people facing charges in connection with the mass shooting to four, though no one has been charged with killing 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi.
Mayor Brandon Scott said Thursday that the way to begin healing from the trauma of the mass shooting was accountability.
“Yesterday, rightfully so, we were focused on accountability of city government and anyone who showed indifference to their duties,” Scott said. “Today, we’re here to talk about accountability for the reckless individuals who decided to pick up a gun and start shooting, without any regard for the lives of those around them.”
Aaron Brown, 18, faces 10 counts of attempted first-degree murder and seven counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, according to court records in his case. Brown also is charged with numerous assault and gun charges, and
faces more than 65 charges total stemming from the Brooklyn shooting. In addition to those, he is charged with attempted murder in connection to a May 19 shooting in the 4600 block of Harford Road.
The 14-year-old was arrested at a school, Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley said Thursday morning. Court records in this suspect’s case are not available because of his age. Baltimore Police said in a news release that he faces criminal charges including conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
Neither Brown nor the teen have an attorney listed.
The police department raised the reward for information in the killings of Fagbemi and Gonzalez to $88,000.
At a Thursday press conference about the arrests, Worley, flanked by detectives and federal agents, said that the department knows of at least 10 shooters from that evening, but is still working to identify them.
The acting commissioner said previously there were more than 100 casings recovered from the scene — The Baltimore
Sun previously reported that casings from at least a dozen firearms were recovered.
“We want to make sure we know exactly who they were, where they were and what direction they shot,” said Worley, noting that detectives are combing through “hundreds of hours of video, ballistics evidence, witness interviews to identify every single one.”
Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates called the day of the shooting one of the city’s “darkest” but affirmed that authorities are unified in arresting those they believe are responsible.
Of the four arrested, one person under the age of 18 is facing charges for gun possession but has not been charged in connection to a shooting; his attorney has said the gun he was filmed holding at Brooklyn Day was a toy.
Brown faces similar charges to 18-year-old Tristan Jackson, who also is charged in the case and who was with Brown the night of the annual Brooklyn Day event, according to court records.
Police say Brown and Jackson used the same Glock 17 handgun with an extended magazine to shoot at people during the early morning chaos at Brooklyn Homes, according to court records. Authorities have recovered shell casings from the scene from at least a dozen guns.
Court records show Brown is accused of shooting at a group of people who also were shooting at him while in the area of Gretna Court — where Gonzalez was fatally shot. Brown is said to have waived his Miranda rights and told detectives that he did participate in the shooting, and that he was shot in the hand, court records show.
After being shot in the hand, Brown, along with Jackson and two other people they were with, ran toward 8th Street and Stoll Street where the Glock was passed to Jackson, according to court records. Jackson, who is charged with seven counts of attempted first-degree murder, then shot at a group of seven people, according to records in his case.
Police say they recovered the gun when they went to arrest Brown on Aug. 8 on a warrant for attempted murder charges in the May 19 shooting.
“I’m not frustrated with the investigation,” Worley said Wednesday. “Our detectives are working around the clock ... I wish we could go faster, but you can’t force an investigation to go any quicker than the evidence and the manpower.”