Police have arrested the man who was shot near the Charles Center Metro Station in downtown Baltimore on Sunday morning.
Omar Peay, 32, walked into the University of Maryland Hospital after someone shot him in the left shin. Hospital staff alerted officers to the presence of a gunshot victim at the medical facility around 1:15 a.m. on Sunday, according to court records.
Peay was one of two people injured near the Charles Center Metro Station following a bout of violence over the weekend.
Homicide detectives Sgt. Matthew Tobjy and Rich Klonko walk into the Charles Street metro stop to examine evidence of a violent crime that left a person with life-threatening injuries on Saturday. (WBFF / Maggie Ybarra
The other person, Lamont Gooding, 20, was fatally stabbed in the unit block of West Baltimore Street, between the Charles Street Metro Center and the Lord Baltimore Hotel, around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Peay told authorities that he had been at Hopkins Plaza when he was injured by gunfire.
LISTEN | Police respond to a report of a stabbing and gunfire near the Charles Center Metro Station
Police have charged Peay with assaulting the security guard for the Royal Farms at 36 Light Street on May 7. On that night, officers found the security guard “lying on his back inside the store,” according to court records.
Peay’s charging documents allege that he got into an argument with a store employee and then assaulted the security guard after he was told hat he was not allowed inside the Royal Farms because he had stolen from it in the past.
“A physical altercation then ensured, and the suspect pushed [the security guard] up against the refrigerator glass door where the sodas are kept,” court records state.
Omar Peay Charging Documents.png
Peay bit the security guard on his left cheek with enough force to break the skin. Then, he picked up the security guard in a bear hug-type move and threw him to the ground. The incident was captured by the store’s security cameras, according to the charging documents.
The security guard’s head struck the ground, which made him dizzy. Court records state that an ambulance took him to the University of Maryland Hospital to receive treatment for his injuries, which consisted of a bump on the back of his head and several small lacerations to the left side of his face.
Central District Detective Timothy Bardzik was tapped to investigate the case. Charging documents describe how Bardzik reviewed the video footage collected by those security cameras and noticed that the man who assaulted the security guard had a bald head “with a very distinct hairline.”
ALSO READ | Bank robbery suspect surrenders after brief chase on I-895
Afterward, Bardzik shared with his colleagues a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) flyer with information about the suspect.
Bardzik was one of the first detectives to arrive to the site of the fatal stabbing on Saturday night. He helped brief homicide detectives on the investigation. After that, he was sent to the University of Maryland Hospital to learn more about the gunshot victim who showed up on the premises.
Central District detective Timothy Bardzik talks to officers about some of the evidence he and other detectives discovered of a violent crime that left a person with life-threatening injuries on Saturday. (WBFF / Maggie Ybarra)
Bardzik immediately recognized Peay as the suspect in the assault that injured the Royal Farms security guard, court records state.
“Detective Bardzik observed the very distinct hairline of the suspect from the BOLO as the same hairline that Mr. Peay has,” according to the charging documents.
Court records show that Peay agreed to speak with detectives about what happened on the night of the assault after he was advised of his Miranda Rights.
“Mr. Peay positively identified himself from the BOLO as the suspect int he assault that occurred at the Royal Farms,” the charging documents state. “Furthermore, Mr. Peay stated that he had a physical altercation with Mr. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted].”
Peay has been charged with second-degree assault.
Local Story
