Man a homicide 10 years after being shot

Police are investigating the death of a Carroll County man in September as a homicide — almost 10 years after he survived being shot at a birthday party in Hanover. Anne Arundel police released a statement Friday saying that Jason Erol Armetta, 34, of Westminster, died Sept. 28 as a result of injuries he sustained when he was shot on Feb. 15, 2009. The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore ruled that “Armetta’s cause of death as complications from the gunshot wound(s) with the manner being homicide.” With no suspects and Armetta’s death now part of a homicide investigation, police asked for help in identifying leads. “Due to the passage of time, homicide detectives are aware witnesses might be more likely to discuss the event than they were during the initial stages of the investigation,” a police spokesman said in a prepared statement. Police spokeswoman Sgt. Jacklyn Davis said officers were first notified of Armetta’s death by the Carroll County sheriff’s office on Oct. 4 and received word from the medical examiner’s office of their ruling his death a homicide on Tuesday. She said the office was examining whether any of Armetta’s previous medical conditions not linked to his injuries from the shooting could have caused his death. Investigators never charged anyone in the 2009 shooting. Armetta was shot in a house on the 7300 block of Parkway Drive South in Hanover while he was attending a party. Officers responded to a report of a shooting at the home a little before 1 a.m. and found Armetta suffering from gunshot wounds. Witnesses told police that three men came to the home and argued with Armetta. One of the men pulled out a handgun and shot Armetta, who was taken to the hospital and survived but required regular medical treatment for the remainder of his life, police said. Two Maryland congressmen who raised concerns after a false alarm about an active shooter caused an 80-minute lockdown at the Walter Reed National Medical Center campus last month say they are satisfied the U.S. Navy is “taking proactive steps” to prevent similar occurrences. U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, who was at the Bethesda military hospital at the time, and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, who represents the area, issued a joint statement Friday after receiving a briefing from Navy officials Tuesday, they said. “Our concerns center on the welfare of the patients at Walter Reed — many of which are veterans suffering from PTSD and brain injuries — as well as the conflicting messaging that came from the various social media accounts of responding agencies,” the congressmen said. “After a lengthy discussion, we are satisfied that Naval officials share our concerns and are taking proactive steps to correct deficiencies identified during this event.” The Nov. 27 lockdown led many military personnel and other patients to barricade doors and hide in back rooms. In their statement Friday, the congressmen said that, according to their Naval briefing, the incident began when a service member assigned to one of the entities housed on the campus “inadvertently sent messages stating ‘Exercise Active Shooter’ and ‘Exercise Suspicious Package’” to about 4,000 people — via voice calls, text messages and emails.