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Four family members died in an apparent murder-suicide in Maryland on Satuday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Authorities said they responded to a report of an active shooter Saturday morning in a home in Joppatowne, a census-designated place about 18 miles north of Baltimore. Once inside, police found four victims, three already deceased. The fourth, a 17-year-old boy, was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Harford County authorities said Devin Brown, 34, and his mother, Sherlyn Ann Pitts, 65, went to visit Pitts’ niece Sheena Yvonne Smothers, 38, and the 17 year old. Police said at some point, Brown “produced a gun” and shot the other three, before turning the gun on himself.
The 17-year-old boy was identified in a GoFundMe as Smothers’ son, Jaylin. Police said he was taken to emergency care in an attempt to save his life. "We tragically lost three of our most dear family members," the fundraiser reads. Authorities are investigating a possible motive for the attack.
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The GoFundMe was started by other family members in an effort to raise money for funeral expenses. So far, it has raised more than $8,000.
“Sherlyn was the oldest sibling of six and was soon about to retire from a job where she was cherished, loved and admired for her positive and comforting attitude,” wrote the GoFundMe organizer.
“Jaylin, a senior in high school, was the only child of loving mother Sheena, whom was also the only child of her surviving parents.”
WBAL-TV spoke to neighbors who described the scene that followed the shooting.
“My granddaughter saw the first police cars pull up, and by the time I came downstairs to look, it was like 10 or 11 of them out here and they all were getting out with big guns,” resident Yvette Cummings told the outlet. "So, I didn't really know what had gone on.”
WBAL-TV reported that residents of the apartment complex had to evacuate their homes, but were later allowed to return.
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