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Shortly after 11:15 a.m. on Saturday morning, Aug. 26, deputies from the sheriff’s office were called to the 300 block of Trimble Road in Joppatowne (Harford County) to investigate what they thought initially was an active shooter situation, the sheriff's office said.
A police spokesperson said that the victims have been identified as Sheryn Ann Pitts, 65, Sheena Yvonne Smothers, 38, and a teen who has not been identified. The suspected shooter, who also died is 34-year-old Devin Brown.
It is believed that Brown and his mother, Pitts, who both live in Baltimore, arrived at the apartment to visit her niece, Smothers, and her teen son.
During the visit, police say that Brown brandished a gun and shot the three families members before turning the gun on himself.
A motive had not been determined as of press time.
Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said that a tipster advised that the agency on Saturday morning after they saw a man enter an apartment building armed with a handgun before hearing multiple gunshots ring out.
However, when deputies arrived within minutes, they found four people suffering from gunshot wounds. Three were pronounced dead inside the apartment by first responders and a fourth died after being rushed to an area hospital.
The incident was isolated to one apartment building, and just on apartment, Gahler noted. There was no forced entry into the unit, and it is believed the shooter was let inside the home.
According to investigators, it is believed that the shooting suspect was among the four who were killed in the shooting.
Following the shooting and subsequent investigation, the building was evacuated before residents could be allowed in later on Saturday.
.“It’s another tragic day for the Harford County community,” the sheriff said. “This is not the first multiple fatality shooting incident that our county has seen. This is a tragic day for our community.”
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