BALTIMORE — A Baltimore man was arrested Sunday in connection with the recent shooting that left a 12-year-old girl found dead on the second floor of a townhome in East Baltimore.
The shooting happened Friday night. Police said they quickly identified Omar Passmore, 28, as the suspect. Passmore had a child with the victim’s mother, according to charging documents.
Police believe he was the only person in the house with the victim, 12-year-old Breaunna Cormley, when she was murdered.
The charging documents provide no 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 that loud screaming was heard.
Passmore was later seen sitting on the front steps of the home before fleeing on foot.
“This young lady had her whole life ahead of her, and a coward took her life,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said at a news conference Friday night. “She’s a child. That’s all that matters. You’re talking about a 12-year-old girl.”
Authorities released few details about the circumstances leading up to the shooting, but Police Chief Richard Worley said it was a targeted attack.
“I can tell you it wasn’t accidental. It wasn’t 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 of a suspect in that case Monday morning.
Gun violence in Baltimore has generally declined since last year, resulting in a significant drop in homicides and non-fatal shootings. By 2023, the city will less than 300 murders recorded for the first time in nearly a decade. That positive trend continued into the first half of 2024, although recent weeks have seen an increase in violence.