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Tiffany Harrison, William Dredden, and their underage son have been indicted following the non-fatal shooting at the school in October after a fight broke out near the building.
According to the Baltimore Police Department, at around 7:50 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 27, a 15-year-old boy was taken to Carver High School by both his mother and father with the intention to assault an unidentified person.
Baltimore State's Attorney Ivan Bates says that Harrison and Dredden conspired with their son to assault the student with a handgun and their fists as he was waiting for classes to begin at the high school.
As they were leaving, investigators say that the teen fired his handgun at another student, striking him with at least two bullets and also hitting a third student who was standing in the area when the gunshots rang out.
The gun-happy minor was then driven away from the scene by his parents, though the entire incident was captured on video.
Based on surveillance footage, prosecutors say that the minor walked up to the victims and appeared to speak to them as Harrison approached and stood next to her son and Dredden charged at the group and knocked one to the ground.
Harrison continued to stand next to her son while he struck the same victim with a handgun, as Dredden punched the victim repeatedly. Harrison stood by as the melee was ongoing, "leaning in and raising and lowering her right arm and hand, seemingly to strike the victim, who was out of view on the ground behind (a low) wall," officials say.
In the footage, Harrison begins to walk away, and the minor followed his mother while Dredden delivered some final blows to the victim. While they were on their way back to their vehicle, the juvenile engaged the other students, reaching into his pocket before a shootout ensued, leaving three minors with gunshot wounds.
While the guns were being fired, it is alleged that Dredden and Harrison took cover by a nearby wall and parked vehicle, and when the shooting ended, they followed their son as he fled in the area near where they initially arrived.
Additional surveillance video showed the trio pulling an SUV into the 1800 block of Braddish Avenue, where Dredden called the police to advise that his son had been shot. Harrison took that time to go across the street to her home in an effort to change her clothes.
Harrison then accompanied her son in an ambulance to Shock Trauma for treatment of his injuries, while the others were also evaluated.
“This morning’s shooting rocked the Carver community. I commend the swift and diligent action of the Baltimore Police Department,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said at the time of the shooting in October.
“This is a despicable example of parents facilitating the escalation of everyday conflict between young people into reckless gun violence endangering innocent lives. We cannot tolerate this. My hope is that those responsible for this incident, including the parents, will be brought to justice.”
Harrison and Dredden were charged with:
- First-degree assault;
- Conspiracy to commit first-degree assault;
- Second-degree assault;
- Conspiracy to commit second-degree assault;
- Use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence;
- Reckless endangerment;
- Wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun;
- Wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun in a vehicle;
- Conspiracy to wear, carry, or transport a handgun in a vehicle;
- Wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun near a school;
- Wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun in a vehicle near a school;
- Wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun to commit a crime of violence near a school;
- Accessory after the fact to first-degree attempted murder.
Dredden was also charged with two counts of illegal possession of a firearm with a previous conviction and illegal possession of ammunition.
“As a parent, it is mind-blowing to read the allegations in this indictment where a child's guardians facilitate in settling a schoolyard dispute with violence," Bates said. "This behavior is not only totally unacceptable, it is criminal, and my office stands ready to hold anyone engaged in such dangerous acts accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
"If you have a child, you must be responsible for their actions, and if you choose to participate in unlawful actions with them, then you will be held accountable for those actions as well."
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