Baltimore Police on Thursday arrested a 15-year-old boy in the deadly shooting of a man who had confronted a group of squeegee workers with a baseball bat near the Inner Harbor.

Detectives arrested the teen at 6:35 a.m. at a home in Essex and took him and his father for an interview. Law enforcement then brought the youth to the Central Booking Intake Facility, where he was charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the killing of Timothy Reynolds, 48, of Hampden.

In a statement, Police Commissioner Michael Harrison described the arrest as “another sad reminder that guns are too easily accessible to our young people.”

“We all need to continue to work together to address the root causes of violence and to provide resources and alternatives to these young people,” Harrison said. “I hope that today’s arrest brings some closure and peace to the family, friends and loved ones of Timothy Reynolds.”

The arrest comes one week after the confrontation at Light and Conway streets.

Here’s what we know so far — and don’t know — about what happened:

Timeline of events

Reynolds was the intersection on July 7 and had “some type of interaction” with squeegee workers that became heated, Harrison told reporters at the scene, describing what happened as a “very complex situation.”

Next, Reynolds drove through the intersection, parked on Light Street, got out of his vehicle with a baseball bat and walked back toward the squeegee workers, Harrison said.

Eyewitness accounts and preliminary statements from police indicate that Reynolds crossed eight lanes of traffic.

It’s not entirely clear what happened next.

The Baltimore Banner obtained a 45-second dashcam video of the shooting that provided additional information that law enforcement did not release about the confrontation but left many questions unanswered.

That’s because the video neither shows the initial interaction at the intersection nor the moment when Reynolds first approaches the squeegee workers.

The video begins with Reynolds walking away from the intersection. He’s pointing the bat at three of the squeegee workers, who are following him from about 20 feet away.

He then walks in front of a car and disappears from camera video. That’s when the youth “seemingly surround him,” according to a description of the video in a police report.

Later, Reynolds swings while running toward the group. One squeegee worker seems to hit him in the head while Reynolds has the bat raised toward a different person.

A police report characterizing the video states that Reynolds “stumbles after being hit in the head with the rock and appears to become disoriented.” A squeegee worker then starts shooting while running away.

One gunshot can be heard in the video followed by four in succession.

The shooting happened at 4:38 p.m. The boy was 14 at the time.

Court documents were not immediately available.

Who are squeegee workers?

“Squeegee kids” are mostly young men or youth who stand at intersections in Baltimore and clean windshields for money. The phenomenon dates back as far as the mid-1980s, and elected officials have for years grappled with how to respond.

Many people in the local business community say they’re a dangerous nuisance and deter people from visiting the city.

But others praise their entrepreneurial spirit and report that they’re respectful. They note individuals end up squeegeeing because of systemic failures and that many use the money to help their families.

What was going on earlier in the day?

Police were first called at 12:05 p.m. to the intersection of Light and Conway streets.

A woman reported that she watched a man in front of her — later identified as state Sen. Antonio Hayes, D-Baltimore — get assaulted. Law enforcement got his number and called him, according to a police narrative obtained by The Banner.

Between 11:45 a.m. and 11:50 a.m., Hayes reported, he was stopped at the intersection and asked a group of young men to get out of the street.

That’s when one of the youths got angry, grabbed a water bottle and threw it into the vehicle, hitting Hayes in the head. He told law enforcement that he was not hurt.

In a statement, Hayes described discussing the incident as a “distraction from the tragedy that resulted in another needless death and act of violence in our city.”

As an elected official, Hayes said, he is disappointed in “our collective inability” to address the despair that leads young people to wash windshields.

“This activity is dangerous, and a threat to our City’s progress,” Hayes said. “I am committed to work with all elected officials and community leaders to fully address this vexing problem.

The Mayor’s Office of African-American Male Engagement was scheduled to hold a job readiness event from 1-5 p.m. at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Employees were out at the intersection conducting outreach before the shooting, police said.

The deputy mayor for equity, health and human services, Faith Leach, had tweeted about the event and asked people to encourage squeegee workers to attend.

Leach is also the acting director of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success, which manages the government’s squeegee youth programs.

Police were called to the area again at 1:51 p.m. and spoke to a man, 41, who told them that a squeegee worker damaged his vehicle.

When the man reported that he verbally confronted him, the squeegee worker pulled out a gun, police said.

Police later identified the squeegee worker and arrested the man, 18, and seized a BB gun.

The Baltimore Orioles were home and played the Los Angeles Angels at 7:05 p.m.

What is the law in Maryland?

In Maryland, children who are 14 or older are automatically charged as adults if they’re facing an offense such as first-degree murder that carries a sentence of life in prison.

They can ask a judge to transfer the case to juvenile court, which would have jurisdiction until 26.

People have a duty to make a reasonable effort to retreat before using deadly force against an attacker.

How have elected officials responded to the shooting?

In an initial statement, Mayor Brandon Scott described the case as an active investigation and said that his office would share updates as the facts become clear.

“I want to be very clear — if you are on the streets of Baltimore and endanger the safety of others or turn to violence to solve your problems, we will hold you accountable,” Scott said. “Regardless of what caused this incident, it is a sad reminder that far too often easily avoidable confrontations escalate into acts of violence.”

Later, during a news conference at City Hall, Scott said the solution is not as simple as clearing corners, noting that the city has been addressing the issue “long before yesterday.”

He said the city will not tolerate acts of violence — regardless of who’s perpetrating them. The city, he said, is offering 40 government jobs to people who squeegee.

“To the young people who are out on those corners, I want you to know I understand why you are out there. But we don’t want you to be. I don’t want you to be,” Scott said. “I want you to take advantage of every resource that we are offering you to get off of those corners.”

Scott also vowed to keep safe drivers and other people who have been affected.

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby wrote in a statement that she was “completely dismayed at the heinous act of violence.”

“As this is an open and pending investigation, there are limits to what I can say, but I want to be unequivocally clear that today’s episode is completely unacceptable and should serve as a flashpoint for our entire city,” Mosby said.

“There are too many guns on our streets and those who willingly turn to violence as a means of resolving conflicts will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” she added.

In a tweet, Councilman Eric Costello, whose district encompasses the intersection where the shooting happened, wrote that “another tragic — and yet preventable — death has occurred in broad daylight at one of the most heavily trafficked intersections in the entire city.”

“Two lives were destroyed today and one person is dead because we have failed to adequately address this situation,” Costello said. “As a government, we have failed everyone here by allowing these circumstances to continue to occur.”

Councilman Zeke Cohen sent an open letter to Leach, writing that the shooting “underscores that the status quo simply cannot continue.”

Cohen asked the Scott administration to use every tool to address the situation and called for the mayor’s office to summon every business and nonprofit organization that’s interested in being part of the solution.

“Fundamentally, this issue is about young people living in abject poverty and participating in an unsafe activity to financially support themselves,” Cohen said. “Until we find a way to meet their basic needs, young people will continue to engage in the underground economy.”

He called for enforcement — but not arrests — to make it clear to children and adults that they can’t run in and out of intersections squeegeeing windows.

GoFundMe

A GoFundMe has raised more than $46,000 for Reynolds’ family.

Reynolds was an engineer and father of three, according to the page. He was the breadwinner for his family.

—Justin Fenton, Emily Sullivan and Adam Willis contributed to this article.

dylan.segelbaum@thebaltimorebanner.com

Read more:

• Man with bat fatally shot after confronting squeegee workers in downtown Baltimore identified as Timothy Reynolds
• Mayor Scott announces enhanced police patrols, more youth outreach after fatal shooting involving squeegee worker and driver
• Opinion: ‘Squeegee kids’ are Baltimore. They are OUR young people. And we have failed them.
• Squeegee workers: Neighborhood nephews, nuisances or nefarious? Maybe it starts in how you look at them
• Dashcam video shows final seconds of Timothy Reynolds’ fatal encounter with squeegee workers, but questions remain
• Squeegee worker, 15, arrested and charged as an adult in fatal shooting of bat-wielding motorist