WASHINGTON — A teenager died and two other teens were arrested after a drug-related shooting in Laurel, Maryland, over the weekend.
Howard County police were called to the 9000 block of North Laurel Road at 11 p.m. Saturday night and found Xavier Cole Young, 14, of Odenton, Maryland, wounded. Young was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he died on Monday.
“Our investigators began looking for information about who may be responsible for this shooting and quickly learned that this appeared to be a drug deal gone bad,” said Howard County Police Department Spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn.
Investigators said they believe Young and his accused killers Luis Gerardo Ordonez, 19, and Francisco J. Rodriguez, 16, both of Laurel, knew each other, and agreed to meet for a drug deal on North Laurel Road. Two groups of people showed up to the meeting location and at some point police believe an altercation between the Young, Ordonez and Rodriguez ended in gunfire.
“A shot was fired from the suspect’s car, striking the victim,” Llewellyn said.
The suspects are then accused of fleeing the area in a black sedan, according to police.
Llewellyn said multiple people were at the scene of the shooting, which allowed investigators to get information in the case.
On Monday, more than a day after the search for the suspects began, a car matching the description of the one the suspects left in was spotted on Harvest View Court in Ellicott City.
“The suspects were found together, they were in a vehicle and they happened to be in the Ellicott City area when we initiated the traffic stop,” Llewellyn said.
Both Ordonez and Rodriguez were arrested and charged with attempted murder. Now that Young has died, those charges are expected to be elevated to murder. Rodriguez is being charged as an adult.
Both suspects are being held at the Howard County Detention Center on no bond.
