BALTIMORE — A Baltimore County man shot and killed three of his neighbors, and injured one other, after setting his home on fire in the suburb of Woodlawn on Saturday, police said.
The shooter, 56-year-old Everton Brown, had a history of disputes with his neighbors, and was intensely paranoid that law enforcement authorities were watching him or invading his property. He was killed after several police officers shot him after his rampage Saturday in the Parkview Crossing town house complex along Maury Road.
It’s the second mass fatal shooting in Baltimore County in recent months. A gunman in Essex killed four people, injuring one more, before setting his home on fire and shooting himself.
Here is what we know so far:
The victims
With his home ablaze around 6 a.m., Brown barged into the home of his next-door neighbors and shot 37-year-old Sara Alacote and 41-year-old Ismael Quintanilla. The couple’s 17-year-old son escaped unharmed.
Family members said Alacote had immigrated to the United States from Lima, Peru, as a young woman, and Quintanilla from San Miguel, El Salvador. They fell in love in the United States and worked in housekeeping and construction to support their son.
After exiting the family’s home, Brown fired on neighbors who stood in the parking lot, killing 24-year-old Sagar Ghimire and injuring one other.
Ghimire, who grew up in rural Nepal, had just graduated from a small university in South Carolina and moved to Woodlawn. He had a dream of going to graduate school and using his education to help people in his home country, his uncle said.
The shooter
Court records show that several peace orders were filed against Brown, as recently as May 5.
Neighbors said he had been “terrorizing” the community, getting into fights over parking spots, shouting into a bullhorn from his porch and walking the streets with a weapon. He posted large signs on his vehicle and his home warning of continual searches and surveillance by federal authorities, including the FBI and CIA.
He even took the matter to court in 2012, but the judge dismissed his suit over a lack of evidence.
The sole survivor in the Quintanilla family, Anthony Ismael, said Brown harassed his family, to the point where they called the police three to four times.
In one instance, Brown parked his car in the family’s parking area, arguing that they had stepped onto his property, but they hadn’t. He even threatened the family with racist statements, Quintanilla said.
The investigation continues
Baltimore County Police are still investigating Brown’s history, and his relationship with his victims, department spokeswoman Joy Stewart said Sunday.
They are also investigating how he obtained the weapons he used, including a handgun and homemade explosive devices that authorities found in his vehicle.
