12-year-old killed, 4 injured in shooting amid parking spot dispute - USA Today

A 12-year-old girl was killed and four adults were injured after an argument over a parking spot at a Baltimore park escalated into gunfire, officials said.

Baltimore police officers responded to Leon Day Park at around 6:15 p.m. on Oct. 3 and found the girl and a 25-year-old old woman suffering from gunshot wounds. The woman was treated for non-life threatening injuries, but the girl was pronounced dead at a local hospital, police said in a statement.

Three other gunshot victims, a 28-year-old man, a 23-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman who suffered a "graze wound to the back," transported themselves the hospital, police said. Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said at a news conference that the shooting appeared to have stemmed from a dispute over a parking spot.

"The two cowards pull guns on each other and the one fires multiple rounds down range and hits the little girl who most likely was down there by the field somewhere," Worley said.

The incident occurred during a youth football game, though its not clear if all the victims or shooters were at the park to attend the game. Coach Mark Brown of the Charm City Buccaneers youth football league told WBAL-TV the homecoming game had been a "beautiful day" filled with food until the shooting broke out.

"The youth had an amazing time, next thing you know pandemonium," he said.

Worley said police are searching for at least two suspects involved in the shooting and that two different gun cartridges were found at the expansive scene. It's not clear how many shots were fired.

Worley and Mayor Brandon Scott urged anyone in the community with information about the shooting to contact law enforcement. Scott condemned the shooting, calling the incident "one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen in my life."

"Two grown men got into an argument, and now a 12-year-old is gone," Scott said at the news conference. "We should never have to say something like that."