A 13-year-old Maryland boy was killed in a shooting outside a shopping mall where five others, including four juveniles, were wounded as they walked through the parking lot on Sunday, investigators said.
The gunfire broke out shortly after midnight in Rosedale, a community on the outskirts of the city of Baltimore, Baltimore County police said.
“This level of violence is unacceptable. We had children that were shot last night,” Police Chief Melissa Hyatt said at a news conference. “And an adolescent lost his life for some senseless and unknown reason.”
The victims left an event at the Triple Threat Elite Dance studio and were approached by several suspects, police said. An altercation ensued and multiple shots were fired.
RIGHT NOW | @BaltCoPolice continue to patrol the shopping center in Rosedale where a 13 year-old was killed early this morning. 5 other teens/young adults were also shot. PD says no one has been arrested. @FOXBaltimore pic.twitter.com/t3WVFJUeFl
— Dan Lampariello (@DanFox45) March 8, 2020
Hyatt said the 13-year-old boy, identified as Rickie Forehand, was pronounced dead at the scene. The five injured victims included two 12-year-old boys, a girl and a boy, both age 14, and a 19-year-old man. They suffered non-life threatening injuries and one has been released from the hospital.
The suspects had left the scene by the time officers arrived, police said in a news release.
Homicide detectives were interviewing numerous people from the event at the dance studio and were searching for any video surveillance in the area.
Baltimore County Executive John A. Olszewski Jr. called the gun violence that struck the community “shocking and horrifying.”
“It has no place in our community and we refuse to allow it to become normalized,” he said, before encouraging the public to come forward with any information about the incident.
Baltimore County recorded a record-high 50 homicides last year, the Baltimore Sun reported.
In the nearby city of Baltimore, at least 54 homicides have been reported as of March 9, according to the paper. The city ended 2019 with 348 homicides, its fifth year in a row with more than 300 slayings and the second-deadliest year on record.
