GWYNN OAK, Md. (WBFF) — A community has been left shocked and asking the question why after Baltimore County Police confirmed a mother found her two children murdered inside their Gwynn Oak home Tuesday night.
“I heard the screams,” Norma Townsend, who has lived in the same community for years, said.
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Townsend said it was the heart-wrenching screams coming from her neighbor’s home yesterday evening that first alerted her something was deeply wrong.
“I heard these loud cries. It was heart-wrenching,” Townsend described. “I said to my husband, ‘do you hear that?’ And he said, ‘yeah, what is that?’ I gave him his dinner, and I looked out the window and that’s when I saw a woman coming out of the house, bent over and gasping for breath. It was like she had seen something that was just devastating. And then you heard more cries and people gathering together, so I knew it was something very serious.”
According to Baltimore County Police, the mother of the children called 911 after discovering their bodies around 7:20 p.m. on July 7.
Officers were dispatched to the home in the 6100 block of Talles Road in Gwynn Oak.
Dispatch audio indicated her nine-year-old son was found shot in a bedroom, and her 15-year-old daughter was found shot in the hallway.
In the audio, officers were heard asking for any suspect information and then clearing the house.
Medics arrived at the location and pronounced the children dead at the scene.
Dispatch audio captured responding officers canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses and any surveillance video.
During that time an officer was heard advising the Baltimore Police Department the father of the children had also arrived at the scene.
The discovery was so deeply disturbing Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough was visibly impacted while providing a preliminary update on what was then declared a double homicide investigation.
You know, you remember every child, and it’s not only children, but even young people. It’s just even more tragic,” Chief McCullough said.
During the preliminary press conference, the chief called the case an isolated incident, and at the time, said it was too soon in the investigation to answer questions about any signs of forced entry or a weapon.
On Wednesday, Baltimore County Police confirmed investigators were still actively reviewing evidence as they worked to identify and locate the suspect.
Meanwhile, the community is focused on wrapping their arms around the family.
“We’re praying for them,” one neighbor said as she was leaving the neighborhood.
We’re here to help in any way that we can. They were new to the community,” Townsend said.
Townsend reflected on often hearing the children play outside, and the joy she said it brought the community.
“They just recently had a celebration there. It was a birthday and the children had a bouncy house,” Townsend said. “The kids were playing and having a wonderful time. You know, our children have grown up and moved on and when you see a little one and hear the voice of a little one, they give you hope. They’re so innocent.”
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact police at 410-887-4636 (INFO).
Information may also be provided anonymously by contacting Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-756-2587.
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