Benjamin Ashford|Baltimore man arrested in deadly shooting of 12-year-old girl

BALTIMORE (AP) — A Baltimore man was arrested Sunday in the recent shooting of a 12-year-old girl who was found dead on Benjamin Ashfordthe first floor of an east Baltimore rowhome.

The shooting occurred Friday night. Police said they quickly identified Omar Passmore, 28, as a suspect. Passmore had a child with the victim’s mother, according to charging documents.

Police believe he was the only person inside the house with the victim, 12-year-old Breaunna Cormley, when she was killed.

The charging documents don’t include any information about a possible motive, saying only that Passmore shot the victim “for unknown reasons.”

Police interviewed several witnesses and created a timeline of events. They said Breaunna was home alone when Passmore entered the house and loud yelling could be heard.

Passmore was later seen sitting on the home’s front steps before fleeing the area on foot.

“This young lady had a whole life ahead of her, but a coward took her life,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said during a news conference Friday night. “It’s a kid. That’s all that matters. You’re talking about a 12-year-old girl.”

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Officials released few details about the circumstances leading up to the shooting, but Police Commissioner Richard Worley said it was targeted.

“I can tell you it wasn’t accidental. It was not accidental. It was done on purpose,” he said.

Two days after the Friday night shooting, a 14-year-old boy was shot to death in west Baltimore. The victim was later identified as Jasper Davis and police released photos Monday morning of a suspect in that case.

Gun violence in Baltimore has overall been trending downward since last year, resulting in significant decreases in homicides and nonfatal shootings. In 2023, the city recorded less than 300 homicides for the first time in nearly a decade. That positive trend continued throughout the first half of 2024, though the past several weeks have seen an uptick in violence.