Shooting

Advertisements praising Maryland's new gun control law will appear on Baltimore-area televisions soon after the measure is signed Thursday - the first volley in a two-pronged effort to defend the legislation and the politicians who voted for it. The gun control advocates behind the ads want to bolster support among Maryland voters in case there's a referendum next year. But they also want to counter a campaign to oust lawmakers who backed the bill in the General Assembly. "We know that the other side will be attacking the legislators who voted for it, and we want people to know those legislators were doing the right thing to save lives in Maryland," said Vincent DeMarco, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence.

Recorded 911 calls released Tuesday reveal frantic reports from neighbors who described the scene as Baltimore police said an off-duty officer shot and killed his girlfriend then barricaded himself in a home for six-hours. "The neighbor across the street she's laying down on the ground beside about four police cars," one woman told an emergency dispatcher as the West Baltimore incident unfolded. "One ambulance came and backed out. She's laying on the ground and bleeding terrible, and I haven't seen an ambulance since.

National Rifle Association President David Keene said Tuesday that the organization intends to challenge the constitutionality of Maryland's newly passed gun law, as a conservative group readied plans to try to overturn the law through voter referendum. Keene said during a radio interview the group will “absolutely” go to the courts. “We are already in court in New York and we will be in court and aiding those in Maryland - and I am myself a Maryland resident - who want to challenge the constitutionality of this and other provisions here in Maryland,” Keene said to the Washington, D.C., station WTOP.

A Baltimore County parent who stepped in to bring warmth and cheer back to the high school that had a chilling cafeteria shooting was recognized Friday during the state's annual Parent Involvement Matters awards. The Maryland State Department of Education awarded Mary Kavanagh with the JoAnne L. Carter Memorial Award, in recognition of her special work with Perry Hall High School, according to a news release from the department. Kavanagh received the award, named in honor of Carter, a former deputy state superintendent who lost her battle with cancer in 2009, for a mural project she launched after a student opened fire at Perry Hall on the first day of school.

No one was injured when a man walked into an Edgemere bar and opened fire, according to Baltimore County Police. The man entered the Sparta Inn in the 6400 block of North Point Road and fired several shots, police said. Officers arrested him without incident, police said.

Hopkins shooting timeline 11:10 a.m. The adult son of a Johns Hopkins patient is briefed by a physician outside Room 873 of the Nelson building on the condition of his mother. The man removes a semiautomic handgun from his waistband and fires a single gunshot, police say, striking the doctor in his lower chest/upper abdomen. The man is seen running into the room and brandishing the handgun in the direction of his mother, who was confined to the bed. 11:15 a.m. Hopkins authorities send out an emergency advisory, lock down portions of the Nelson building and evacuate other sections.

Baltimore police are the scene of a shooting at the city-owned Baltimore Hilton Hotel, where a person was shot. The hotel is just a block from Camden Yards and Orioles game in progress. Details are slim but here is the latest statement from police: "Baltimore Police were called for report of a shooting at 401 W. PRATT ST. at a city-owned Hilton Hotel. A female suspect shot a male companion in the lower back after a struggle. Both the victim, suspect were taken into police custody and a 40 cal handgun was recovered.

A man walked into Good Samaritan Hospital early Friday morning with gunshot wounds, according to Baltimore Police. The man, 24, had been shot in the right hand and the buttock, police said. He came in at 2:49 a.m., according to police, who had no further information, including where the shooting took place. Text BUSINESS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Business text alerts

My heart aches for the victims of the horrible shooting in Arizona, and my prayers are with the victims and their loved ones. However, before we even know the full story of what possessed this young man to do this horrific act, there are those who are pointing their fingers, blaming talk radio, Fox News and people like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. For those of you who think this psycho read the wrong message into what talk radio and Fox report, then you also have to be classified as a psycho.

A doctor is in critical condition after being shot on the eighth floor of a Johns Hopkins Hospital building, police say, and the shooter has barricaded himself in a room on the same floor. Portions of the Nelson Building, a thoracic center on its sprawling East Baltimore campus, have been placed on lockdown and other sections have been evacuated. Police have shut down numerous roads in the area of Broadway, East Monument and North Wolfe streets. South of Monument and Wolfe was sealed off with trucks, cars and tape.

Baltimore County police say they shot a woman in Pikesville early Saturday after she pulled a handgun on an officer. The woman was in serious condition at a local hospital Saturday evening but expected to survive, police said. According to a news release, the officer was called to the 3100 block of North Brook Road before 2 a.m. to investigate a report of a suspicious person. He saw a woman throw a large rock at a house, officials said, breaking a window. The woman allegedly drew a handgun, and police said the officer repeatedly ordered her to drop, then shot her multiple times in the upper body.

The shooting of Kendra Diggs and the subsequent barricade by her alleged attacker presented a challenge Tuesday for police and emergency responders. Under the threat of further gunfire from the off-duty Baltimore police officer, officials said, they were unable to render medical aid to the dying woman. "When you have a person who is down … what we're trained on is that you don't jeopardize six or seven police officers in your emotional reaction to save that person," Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said in an interview Wednesday.

A victim in a triple-shooting over the weekend succumbed to his injuries on Monday, Baltimore police said. The man has not been identified but police said he died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. The shooting occurred just before 7 p.m. Sunday in the 2900 block E. Monument St. Police said the three gunshot victims were hanging out on the block with several others when three suspects approached from N. Curley Street and began firing handguns. The man, whose wounds proved fatal, was found by police lying on the ground while officers found another man shot in the hand and another victim wounded in the leg, police said.

A Baltimore man who was found suffering from a gunshot wound in Rosedale early Sunday morning had driven to the gas station where he collapsed onto the parking lot, Baltimore County police said Monday. Robert Wynder Jr., 23, of the 1700 block of Montpelier Ave., was shot in a different location before driving to a Shell gas station on Kenwood Avenue in a gold four-door Honda Civic, police said. Officers were called to the gas station at 4:28 a.m., where Wynder was suffering from at least one gunshot wound in front of the gas station.

The family of 17-year-old Markell Jones was watching the television news one night in November 2011, authorities say, when the broadcaster introduced surveillance tape footage of the killing of an Army veteran inside a Greenmount Avenue carryout. Relatives recognized Jones on the tape, authorities say. After talking it over, they called police, and Markell gave a full confession - and a written letter of apology to the victim's daughter. It appeared to be a clean, closed case.

It was such a short mention in Thursday's newspaper ("5-year-old accidentally kills sister with own rifle," May 2) that I thought it deserves more attention. Five-year old boy accidentally kills two-year old sister with own rifle! Then it goes on to say that parents bought the rifle as a present for the boy's 5th birthday recently. The NRA may have it right about the right to bear arms, and the Constitution doesn't say at what age. And there is no law that will ever protect us from stupidity.

Baltimore County police are investigating a homicide after a victim in a Lansdowne double shooting died days later. James Townsend, 33, of the 2900 block of Bero Road, died Wednesday after suffering medical complications after he and a second man were shot April 27 outside Townsend's home by two suspects wearing masks, police said. The medical examiner ruled Townsend's death a homicide Thursday. The other male victim was treated and released from Maryland Shock Trauma Center, police said.

Each week, The Baltimore Sun publishes a Q&A with a college lacrosse player or coach to get you more acquainted with the player and his/her team. Today's guest is Johns Hopkins sophomore attackman Wells Stanwick, who leads the team in assists with 22 and points with 45. The Baltimore native and Boys' Latin graduate entered the week ranked fourth in Division I in shooting percentage (.500). After Saturday's 8-4 loss to then-No. 7 Loyola, the No. 13 Blue Jays (8-5) are in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1971, the debut of the event.