PASADENA, Md. — "The subject has threatened harm to him."
They are the words of a police dispatcher in Anne Arundel County after an ominous 911 call at 9:32 in the morning for officers to respond to a home in the 1400 block of Orr Court in Pasadena.
"The homeowner called in saying that a man who had been threatening him was on the way to his house,” Sgt. Jacklyn Davis later told WMAR-2 News. “The homeowner also said that he believed the man was on a scooter coming from the area of Duvall Highway and Fort Smallwood, which is a couple of miles up the road that way."
From her house on a neighboring street, 20-year-old Carli Tilghman told detectives she spotted the man as he neared the home.
"I saw this random guy through the woods, because you can see the street through the woods at my back door,” said Tilghman. “I saw him ride by on an electric scooter, and I've never seen anyone like that, and right after, I saw a cop and right after I saw the cop, I heard gunshots."
Two shots in rapid succession, according to Tilghman, just a matter of seconds before an officer arrived.
"When our officer pulled up, the homeowner came running out saying, 'Help me! Help me! I shot him!'" said Davis.
That officer called for help at 9:38.
"I need an ambo. Shots fired."
Officers tried to assist the wounded man, but he died on the scene.
Police say they found him outside the home in the driveway with his scooter beside him, but they have not said whether he was armed with any kind of weapon.
Detectives are questioning the homeowner who shot him, and they awaited a search warrant before they could retrieve the gun he used from inside the house.
"We don't know that neighbor very well, but I can't imagine him doing such a thing unless maybe he was threatened by somebody or protecting his home or something like that, because it just doesn't happen here," said Traci Somers who lives a few doors down from the shooting.
But it did happen, and it will now be up to investigators to determine whether it happened in self-defense.
The victim's name is being withheld until next of kin can be reached.
