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In the first charges directly tied to the deadly mass shooting at Brooklyn Homes, an 18-year-old has been taken into custody on attempted murder and murder conspiracy charges.
Police said Tristan Brian Jackson was taken into custody in the 300 block of N. Gay Street while at the Juvenile Justice Center, and charged with more than 50 counts related to the shooting. He faces seven counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, seven counts of attempted murder, and 41 related charges, police said.
Court records show Jackson was linked in part through GPS monitoring for a prior offense.
Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley said detectives had been working “tirelessly” and that the investigation was still ongoing.
“While this arrest cannot undo the damage and trauma caused that day, it is my hope that it can bring some peace and justice to the families of all the victims and the Baltimore community,” Worley said in a statement.
The charges come more than a month after the July 2 block party shooting in which two were killed and 28 others were injured. There were hundreds of people at the party, and police believe more than a dozen guns were fired, complicating the process of identifying suspects.
Previously, police charged a teenager who they say was recorded holding a gun in a video posted to social media. His attorney has said the gun was a toy.
Charging documents in Jackson’s case show that he was identified by someone he was with that night who was wounded in the shootout. CCTV footage shows a crowd leaving Brooklyn Homes as the shooting erupted, and a man who police believe to be Jackson firing in the direction of seven people who were fleeing in the opposite direction.
Police further corroborated his location through the GPS monitor he was wearing.
Jackson was previously arrested in February after police received an anonymous tip that he was armed with a gun at Mervo High School. He was located in the cafeteria, taken to another area to be searched, and tried to leave, police wrote in charging documents. A struggle ensued, and a Glock 43X 9mm pistol with an extended magazine was recovered, police said.
He was ordered held without bail, but other records from the case were not available. The case no longer appears in the Maryland Judiciary Case Search database, and a spokesperson for the State’s Attorney’s Office said the case had been waived to juvenile court. Charging documents, however, remain available because they were filed with a habeas corpus petition to review his no-bail status following his arrest.
Baltimore Police have also been conducting a review of their own actions the night of the shooting — despite the large crowd gathered at Brooklyn Homes, police established no presence. One officer, in response to a 911 call that people there were armed with guns and knives, could be heard in a dispatch recording joking: “You might have to redirect that call to the National Guard.”
An “after action” review promised for 30 to 45 days after the shooting has been delayed; a City Council hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13.
Aaliyah Gonzalez, 18, and Kylis Fagbemi, 20, were killed in the shooting.
justin.fenton@thebaltimorebanner.com
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Justin Fenton is an investigative reporter for the Baltimore Banner. He previously spent 17 years at the Baltimore Sun, covering the criminal justice system. His book, "We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops and Corruption," was released by Random House in 2021 and became an HBO miniseries.
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