A Maryland man has been charged with murder after a shooting at a birthday party Sunday night left three dead — including a father and son — and three others injured.
Charles Robert Smith, 45, has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of first-degree assault and three counts of attempted murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime, Annapolis Police Chief Edward Jackson announced Monday.
He is being held without bond at the Jennifer Road Detention Center. It wasn’t immediately clear if he has a lawyer.
Smith, who is white, lived in the block of 1000 Paddington Place in Annapolis where the shooting took place, Jackson said.
Police were called to the area at 7:50 p.m. Sunday on a report of a mass shooting and found three victims deceased and three injured.
Three Hispanic men were killed: Nicholas Mireles, 55, of Odenton; his son Mario Antonio Mireles Ruiz 27, of Annapolis; and Christian Marlon Segovia, 25, of Severn, officials said Monday.
Two of the wounded were airlifted to a local hospital and another was taken by ambulance. All three were in stable condition Monday afternoon, Jackson said.
Some of the victims lived in the block of the shooting and others lived in the area, Jackson said.
Annapolis police said there was a birthday party going on when shots were fired. Jackson said that when he arrived, 150 to 200 people were there.
Smith was not attending the party, police said.
Two weapons were recovered from the scene: a long handgun and a semi-automatic handgun, according to the police chief.
Police speculated Sunday that there may have been an exchange of gunfire, but Jackson said Monday officials can’t say definitively and the matter is under investigation.
“Only thing we know is that the person we have in custody fired shots,” Jackson said.
Reporters asked at the news conference if the shooting unfolded after a dispute over a parking spot. Jackson acknowledged hearing such accounts but cited the ongoing probe.
Officials previously said the shooting isn’t random, and Jackson stressed the shooting was an isolated incident.
It’s not clear what motivated the shooting. Jackson said they’re still investigating and have a search warrant for the suspect’s home. Authorities will also look into whether the violence was possibly hate-motivated.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are aiding in the investigation.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
