The fatal shooting of a 28-year-old woman at Milford Mills on Tuesday night led to the pursuit of a suspect and shut down the subway, setting a record for homicides in Baltimore County in a year.

The police identified the victim as Wayniqua Johnson and stated that she was shot to death in an apartment on Stockmill Road at about 5:10 pm, with five children also present. Patrol officers tracked and detained an 18-year-old suspect, Shaheem Muse, at the Milford Mill Road subway station.

Coupled with her killing, the county has killed 50 people this year, an increase of 69% over the same period last year, and surpassed the record high set in 2019. Non-fatal shootings also increased by 20%.

Police Commissioner Melissa Kayat said in a statement: "This level of violence is incomprehensible, and Baltimore County will not accept this kind of violence." "Violent crimes bring pain and trauma to the entire community. Its The impact is lasting and far-reaching."

County Administrator Johnny Olszewski Jr. stated that he was “angry and frustrated for every person who lost a loved one and every tragedy that happened in any of our communities”, and pointed out that Some public safety initiatives being undertaken by the county:

He said: "I will do my best to prevent as many of these incidents as possible, and we are doing this." However, he added, "Baltimore County is still a safe place to work and raise a family."

Hyatt said that most of the homicides in the county were related to mental health or caused by family disputes. In the shooting incident on Tuesday, the police stated that preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect and the victim had a recent relationship.

After being arrested, Muse told the police that Johnson was holding a gun and shooting himself, and then he ran away. However, the police wrote in the allegation document that the evidence refuted this possibility because the shooting did not appear to have occurred in close quarters.

Muse was charged with first-degree murder and cannot be released on bail.

Congressman Julian Jones's area includes Owings Mills and Woodlawn, where many homicides occurred this year. He emphasized that the clearance rate of the police department is an indicator of the county's success in fighting crimes when crimes occur. The police said they have closed 75% of the homicides this year.

"When you commit a crime in Baltimore County, especially with a serious matter like murder, you will be caught and prosecuted," he said.

Jones acknowledged that crime prevention is more difficult, especially the domestic incidents that the authorities say have led to an increase in homicides this year.

There were two mass shootings this year: In March, 27-year-old Joshua Green killed his parents Douglas and Olivia Green at Baldwin’s home, and then shot again at the Royal Farm The other two, Alpha Smith and Silverstar Daye Jr. In Essex. The police said that Green then committed suicide in the apartment parking lot.

About a month later, 56-year-old Everton Brown set fire to his home in Woodlawn, killing three of his neighbors, and then the police shot him to death. The 911 call records show that Everton suffers from paranoia and believes that the government is plotting against him.

Olszewski said that the county’s rising domestic violence crime rate is not an outsider, it is a regional and national trend. The county’s per capita homicide rate is lower than that of the state—5.86 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with 9.1 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in the state.

Dundalk Democrats said the county is investing "a lot of money for public safety" and community support. He hopes to use the US$1 million in the US rescue plan to pilot gun detection systems in high crime areas, install more license plate readers throughout the county, and plan to expand the county’s mobile crisis team to handle behavioral health-related service calls. He also plans to place clinicians in the county's 911 call center to transfer such calls from patrol officers to health professionals.

Woodstock Democrat Jones is skeptical of the U.S. rescue plan to fund the county's own gun detection system. He said the funds can be used to deploy more mobile crisis teams to respond to service calls related to behavioral health.

"I want to hear an explanation of why we need something like this," he said.

Jones said that trust between the police and the communities they patrol is essential to crime prevention. He said that closing investigations usually relies on witnesses, who must feel comfortable enough to come forward.