Mugshot Charles Robert Smith.
Charles Robert Smith is the suspect accused of shooting three men to death in a mass shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 11, 2023, the police chief said in a news conference.
Police Chief Ed Jackson said in a news conference that police responded to a report of a “mass shooting.”
On Sunday at 7:50 p.m., police received a call to the 1000 block of Paddington Place in the City of Annapolis for a shooting of a mass shooting incident “with casualties,” Jackson said.
Smith was on his own property nearby when he fired at the victims, according to the chief, who added that there was a “busted window.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The Police Chief Says Charles Robert Smith Shot & Killed 3 Hispanic Men
Six people in total were shot, and three of the victims were deceased at the scene, according to Jackson. The three surviving victims were taken to the hospital, where they are in stable condition, he said.
The deceased victims were named by the chief as Nicholas Mireles, 55, of Odenton; Mario Antonio Mireles Ruiz, 27, of Annapolis; and Christian Marlon Segovia, 25, of Severn. He said they are all Hispanic males. Two of the victims were a father and son, Jackson said.
Police took a person of interest into custody, Smith, who has now been charged with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of first-degree assault, and three counts of attempted murder, Jackson said.
The chief described Smith as a 45-year-old white male who lives in the same Annapolis neighborhood where the mass shooting occurred.
Asked whether the crime was racially motivated or a hate crime, the chief said police were still trying to determine the motive, but he said authorities were not “ruling anything out.” He said: “Our suspect is a white male, and the three victims are Latino, but we can’t draw any inferences from that.”
The chief said he did not know of any prior encounters between police and Smith at least since he was chief. He said Smith surrendered “peacefully.”
Charging documents obtained by the Baltimore Banner provided additional details. They say that Mireles Ruiz went over to the residence on Paddington Place to speak with a woman named Shirley Smith about parking.
Mireles Ruiz’s house was hosting a large party with cars on the street.
An argument sparked and Charles Smith is accused of pulling out a gun and then shooting Mireles Ruiz and Segovia after a “tussle” erupted for the weapon, Baltimore Banner reported.
Charles Smith is accused of standing over Mireles Ruiz and shooting him “several more times,” the site reported, citing charging documents. According to police, Smith then fired a rifle out a front window to people coming to help and shot and killed Nicholas Mireles, Baltimore Banner reported, adding that Charles Smith claimed he fired at the victims because shots were fired at his house, but no one else saw them with guns.
The Mayor Said the Mass Shooting Occurred at a Block Party
ON SCENE: Mass shooting in Annapolis. 4 shot: 1 dead, 1 flown to Shock Trauma. Suspect in custody. Awaiting press conference.
The shootings occurred on the front lawn of a home, according to the county executive, Steuart Pittman, who also spoke in the news conference. The Annapolis mayor, Gavin Buckley, said in the news conference: “This is personal. This is not who we are.” He said that the shooting occurred on a graduation day “at a block party.” He called it a “diverse community.”
The chief said there were at least 100 to 150 people outside after the shooting, describing it as a “very volatile scene.”
A long handgun and semi-automatic hangun were used in the crime, according to Jackson. The chief said it was an “isolated incident that was contained immediately,” and he said there was no threat to the public.
He said he believes Smith was the “only person involved in this,” and he said Annapolis “remains one of the safest cities in the region.”
The governor, Wes Moore, praised first responders, saying they “continue to exemplify heroism.”
“Another mass shooting in our country, and this time, it happened here, in our state,” Moore said. “We know that three of the victims have passed away, and we know that others are fighting for their lives as we speak, and I pray for God’s healing mercy on them.”
The chief said police are still “trying to find what was the motivation behind this.” He said the suspect “lived in close proximity” to the shooting scene, but he did not release any relationship between the suspect and the victims. The suspect was not wounded, he said. Smith is being held without bond, the chief said.
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