BALTIMORE, Md. — A teenager and his parents were indicted Tuesday for their alleged involvement in an Oct. 27 shooting outside a Baltimore high school that left three people wounded.
The indictment accuses William Dredden III, 40, and Tiffany Harrison, 37, of driving their 15-year-old son to Carver Vocational Technical High School and helping him attack a student outside the school by “striking him repeatedly with a handgun and their fists as he waited for his classes to begin,” Yahoo News reports.
As the three were leaving the area after the attack, prosecutors allege the teen ran into another 15-year-old with whom he engaged in a verbal altercation. Both students pulled out handguns and started shooting, injuring each other. A third student was also injured in the crossfire.
Most of the altercations were caught on video surveillance. Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said the video shows the parents and their son returning to their SUV after the shooting. They then drove a short distance to Harrison’s home where she changed clothes and Dredden called 911. Harrison accompanied her son in an ambulance to the hospital to be treated for his injuries.
“To see parents, all of this allegedly, in a video participating in these types of acts to children is absolutely mind-boggling,” said Bates. “If you are a parent, or a guardian, and you are participating or complacent in violence being perpetrated in Baltimore, then you just need to bring the family pack of toothbrushes because my administration will hold the entire family accountable.”
Dredden and Harrison both face 15 charges, including first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, illegally transporting a handgun, and accessory after the fact to first-degree attempted murder. They are being held without bond with court dates scheduled for the beginning of next year. Their son was indicted in adult court but hasn’t been identified because he is a minor.
At least two other people involved in the dispute are also facing charges but Bates said he could not release specifics because the cases are proceeding in juvenile court.
While gun violence overall has trended downward in Baltimore, the city has reported an uptick in youth violence, including the shootings of several students on or near high school campuses, according to AP.
In Sept. 2022, 17-year-old Jeremiah Brodgen was fatally shot in a parking lot during dismissal at Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School. This January, a 16-year-old student was killed and five others were wounded in a shooting across the street from Edmondson-Westside High School. Also in January, a 15-year-old student was killed a few blocks away from Forest Park High School. In March, 16-year-old Izaiah Carter was fatally shot in a park adjacent to Patterson High School and Claremont School.
