Members of the Harbor Pointe Estates community in Essex expressed fear ? but not surprise ? after a teenage boy was shot at the neighborhood bus stop Thursday afternoon.
Witnesses said four males pulled up to the corner of Sandalwood and Nerbay roads in a small silver or gold car at about 2:50 p.m.
One man jumped out, shooting into a crowd and hitting a 16-year-old boy twice in the back, according to witnesses.
Baltimore County police said they have not made any arrests and have no suspects.
The number of shots fired into the crowd is not clear, and neither is whether the boy was the shooter?s intended victim, they said.
“We?ll know when we make an arrest and can ask him,” said police spokesman Bill Toohey. “Until then, we just don?t know.”
But residents, speaking only on condition of anonymity, said they believe the shooter was targeting the youth.
They said a group of neighborhood boys uses the bus stop, as a hang out. The corner is less than a block from Sandalwood Elementary School, and children walked along its sidewalks Friday afternoon at the same time the shooting occurred the day before
Other residents said the neighborhood has taken a turn for the worse, blaming the absence of police and the property owner of town house apartments in the area for accepting low-income housing vouchers. They said many residents who rely on public transportation are now too scared to wait at the bus stop.
Police said daylight shootings in the area are not unheard of, and they are working on a new gun squad to combat the problem. The squad, which will be responsible for investigating drive-bys effective July 1, will be staffed by six detectives and two supervisors.
The victim was listed in stable condition Thursday at Bayview Hospital, but authorities are not releasing his name and could not indicate his condition Friday.
“We don?t have homicide calling us with a new case, so, so far, that?s good,” Toohey said.
