Family mourns teenager who was gunned down in parking lot of Northeast Baltimore school
BALTIMORE -– The family of a 17-year-old boy who was shot and killed in the parking lot of Mergenthaler High School during dismissal Friday remembers him as a loving person.
The Baltimore Police Department identified the gunshot victim as Jeremiah Brogden.
At the close of the first week of classes, a student from a different school showed up at Mervo's campus where a confrontation ensued, according to investigators.
That argument escalated. The teenage student took out a gun and fired it at Brogden several times, police said.
That person fled following the shooting. School Resource Officers caught him in the neighborhood behind the school near the 3600 block of Tivoly Avenue.
Officers and medics tried to save the teen's life, but Brogden died after he was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, police said.
A 17-year-old male faces charges of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting. The police department announced his arrest and related charges on Saturday.
Brogden's family said in a statement on Sunday that he was loved.
"He was a devoted big brother and father. A loving son and a talented football player," the statement said. "We are sad to see his life cut short and we're having a hard time understanding why this tragedy has happened. His parents are still trying to understand how you can spend time loving, nurturing and coaching a young man, instilling the values of faith, hard work and dedication into him, only to have him robbed from you at the blink of an eye leaving school. Jeremiah's family, church family, team and school family will miss him and carry his legacy with us forever."
The teenage suspect is being held without bail at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services facility.
Homicide investigators ask anyone with information about this incident to contact their agency at 410-396-2100.
Anonymous tipsters can call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCK-UP.
