18-year-old charged in deadly triple shooting at Catonsville motel

BALTIMORE -- A man arrested after a deadly triple shooting at a motel in Catonsville early Monday morning is charged with murder, Baltimore County police said.

Jose Diaz-Contrenas, 18, is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Officers responded around 3 a.m. to Motel 6 on Baltimore National Pike, where they found the three men shot. Two were hospitalized, while one victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police identified the man who died as 30-year-old Javier Argueta. They said the two other men injured in the shooting are expected to survive.

Charging documents reveal Diaz-Contrenas got into an argument with Argueta and the other two victims before shots were fire. Also, police identified Diaz-Contrenas from surveillance footage of the shooting.

When police questioned him, charging documents say Diaz-Contrenas stated "could not stop" shooting at the victims.

When Ryan Coleman, Randallstown NAACP president, found out about the shooting, he said his first thought was, "Here we go again."

Coleman said this Motel 6 location, as well as other motels and hotels in the area, have been attracting too much crime.

He wants to prevent the next one and make things safer.

"We really want to interface with them on having armed security or off-duty police officers, cameras, for them to do some kind of background check on guests," he said.

Coleman reached out to Motel 6 and is still waiting to hear back. But, he's hopeful because he knows it can get done.

"We have worked at several gas stations with this. We've been doing this at different places where we find there are a high volume of 911 calls, calls for service for police, and just crime in general," he said.

Diaz-Contrenas is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. He is currently being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center without bond.

Motel 6 released a statement Tuesday regarding the incident:  "Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the victims, and we are doing everything we can to assist law enforcement with their investigation. There is nothing more important to us than the safety of our guests, hotel employees, and the communities in which we operate, which is why we have invested hundreds of millions across all aspects of the business, including a wide variety of safety programs, over the past decade." 

The company also added that all Motel 6 locations are independently owned and operated.