An Owings Mills man was charged with attempted murder after Baltimore County police said they uncovered his plot to commit a “Columbine style” attack at an ITT Technical Institute.
Santorio Harper, 30, of the unit block of Straw Hat Road, is being held without bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center after telling police on Dec. 29 that he planned to kill himself after opening fire at ITT Technical Institute in Owings Mills, where he was a student, said police spokesman Cpl. Mike Hill.
Police were led to Harper’s residence by a concerned co-worker who first contacted Howard County police after hearing Harper speak about a gun he’d purchased, Hill said.
When Baltimore County police interviewed Harper at his house, they learned he was severely depressed. Officers seized his handgun, which had been legally purchased, along with documentation of the Columbine incident found in his residence, Hill said.
Harper was admitted for an emergency evaluation and returned to police custody after three days in the hospital.
– Carolyn Peirce
