A Maryland man sitting in his own driveway on Halloween night shot three masked men who, police say, threatened him with a gun, and the two who lived are charged with attempted home invasion.
Story Highlights
- Police say three masked men, one with a handgun, threatened a Cockeysville homeowner in his driveway.
- The homeowner drew his own gun and fired; one man, 20-year-old Amon Walker, was found dead nearby.
- The two wounded men, ages 22 and 24, are charged with attempted home invasion and assault.
- Police have not announced any charges against the homeowner.
- Both survivors are being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center, with bail review hearings set for Wednesday, November 4.
Masked Men Came Up the Driveway
The shooting happened about 10:40 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, on Greenside Drive in Cockeysville, a suburb north of Baltimore. The homeowner told police he was sitting in his driveway when three men in masks walked up. He said one had a handgun and the group threatened him. He pulled his own gun, fired at them, and called 911. Police said the attack appears to have been targeted and there is no ongoing danger to the neighborhood.
Why did the men come? According to court records, one of the wounded men told officers the group drove to Cockeysville to assault someone, and Walker had said a person he had a dispute with lived at the house. Court records also say the masked men ordered the homeowner and another man with him to go inside the home, and one of the masked men waved a gun before the homeowner fired.
Who Was Shot, and Who Is Charged
Officers found Walker dead a short distance away, on the grounds of Cockeysville Middle School. The other two men turned up at local hospitals with gunshot wounds. Police recovered a loaded handgun they believe belonged to the three men. The men had left their car at a nearby apartment complex and walked to the house, according to court records.
The two survivors are Elias Bitar, 22, of Parkville, and Aaron Walker Jr., 24, of Baltimore. Both are accused of attempted home invasion and assault, and Walker Jr. also faces a firearm charge and attempted burglary. They are being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center, and bail review hearings are set for 1 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4. Neither had a lawyer listed in court records. Both men are accused, not convicted.
Police have not announced charges against the homeowner, and he has not been named. During a search of his home, officers took his handgun and some suspected marijuana, according to court records. Homicide detectives are still investigating, which is routine whenever someone dies by gunfire.
Self-Defense and Maryland Law
Maryland law looks at whether a person reasonably believed he faced death or serious harm. State courts also recognize “defense of habitation,” a rule that allows deadly force when a person reasonably believes an attacker means to commit a serious crime in the home or to badly hurt someone there. Prosecutors weigh facts like the threat, the weapons, and the distance between people when they review a case like this one.
Cases like this one happen more often than the headlines suggest. A study of national crime victim surveys found that victims reported using a gun to defend themselves in roughly 61,000 to 65,000 incidents a year from 1987 to 2021.
A Quiet Street on a Busy Night
The house was decorated for Halloween and had drawn trick-or-treaters that evening. Neighbors described the family there as longtime residents. One neighbor said she first thought the gunshots were Halloween pranks, and another heard “popping sounds” and a car speeding by while watching TV inside. One neighbor called it “very, very scary.” By the next day, only a few strips of yellow tape were left.
Police say the homeowner faced three masked men and a gun at the end of his own driveway, fired to protect himself, and then called for help. The two men who lived through it face charges, while the homeowner has not been charged with anything.
Sources:
townhall.com, cbsnews.com, thebanner.com, wmar2news.com, wbal.com, patch.com, justia.com, aphapublications.org