PA Bill Number: HB335
Title: In inchoate crimes, further providing for prohibited offensive weapons.
Description: In inchoate crimes, further providing for prohibited offensive weapons. ...
Last Action: Removed from table
Last Action Date: May 1, 2024
Maryland Self-Defense: Police on double homicide in Severn - It looks like . . . he shot them in self-defense :: 07/11/2016
“It looks like they tried to break into his house and he shot them in self-defense.”
Anne Arundel County police Monday morning continued to investigate a double homicide that occurred Saturday in Severn.
Two men were shot after they apparently broke into a home in the 7600 block of Sandy Farm Road, according to police. Police said early evidence indicated it was a case of self-defense.
One man was found in a residence and the other in a truck nearby, police said.
Police said the call came from a home in that block of Sandy Farm Road after one of the men broke into the house seeking help for his gunshot wounds. Both men were shot at another house in the deeply wooded area, police said.
The second man made it to the truck and died as he tried to drive off, police said.
Police have one man in custody, but have not released his name. He told police the men attempted to break into his house and he shot them. Police said Monday morning he is cooperating with the investigation, and that his statements have so far been corroborated by evidence collected at the scene and eyewitness accounts.
Police searched locations related to the case Sunday evening. It appears those involved knew each other.
“This was not a random act; it was targeted,” said Lt. Ryan Frashure, police spokesman.
It seems likely the two men knew where they were going. Though running parallel to the ramp from Telegraph Road to Route 100, Sandy Farm Road is difficult to find; it’s in an area full of dead-end roads. Only one house on the street is visible from the roadway; the remaining handful of homes there sit well back into thick woods along the street.
Information from witnesses seems to back up the account told by the man taken into custody, police said. The witnesses were in the house at the time of the shooting.
"It looks like they tried to break into his house and he shot them in self-defense,” Frashure said.
He said evidence is supporting witness statements and it appears the two victims were shot in the house as they tried to enter through the front door.
What the men were wearing, including some types of scarves to cover their faces, indicated they were there for a burglary or home invasion, Frashure added.
As of Monday morning, police had not released the names of men who were shot. There were reports that the man found in the house had several wounds and the man in the truck was shot in the head, but Frashure could not confirm that.
“They were both shot in the upper body, but I don’t know how many times,” he said. “The medical examiner is determining that.”
Autopsies will be performed Monday, according to a police statement released Sunday night.
The names should be released once family members are notified. These were the seventh and eighth homicides in the county this year so far.
