After Shooting, 7-Year-Old Girl Still Critical; Police Seek Tips

BALTIMORE, MD — Authorities are working to identify the driver of a white Mercedes Benz who may have information about the shooting in southwest Baltimore that injured a 7-year-old girl. The child remains in critical condition, days after she was caught in the crossfire of what investigators believe was a targeted encounter.

Taylor Hayes, 7, was in the backseat of a Honda Accord driven by her mother's friend Thursday afternoon when she was hit in the back by a bullet that went through the car's trunk, according to Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle.

A number of shots were fired in the 500 block of Lyndhurst Street, according to Tuggle, who said that based on the shell casings recovered, at least two different guns were involved.

At 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 5, a man knocked on the window of a police car parked on Normandy at Edmondson avenues and told Officer Steven Reed a child had been shot. Reed sprinted to the girl a block away, on Edmondson at Loudon avenues, then flagged down a private ambulance to take Hayes to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

"It is by the grace of God..." Tuggle said, that the 7-year-old girl was able to get to shock trauma, where the center's renowned Physician-in-Chief Dr. Thomas Scalea happened to be on hand when she arrived.

After the shooting, Hayes was in "very unstable" condition with police stating she was "fighting for her life."

By Monday afternoon, Tuggle said there was some positive news.

"Her condition has improved," Tuggle said, based on his conversations with Scalea. After multiple surgeries, she "made some slight improvements" and "she's doing better."

While she has made some progress, officials said the child remains in critical condition.

"She's not by any means...about to walk out of the hospital," Baltimore Police Chief of Media Relations TJ Smith said Monday afternoon. "She has a long road to recovery regardless."

RELATED: GoFundMe Page Set Up For 7-Year-Old Gunshot Victim

There was another child in the vehicle, who was not injured, according to police. The other child was believed to be related to the driver.

Darnell Holmes, 33, of the 1400 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, was driving the Honda Accord, police said, and she has been arrested.

After the shooting, police said the Honda Accord left the crime scene and drove to Edmondson Avenue, where detectives recovered a .40-caliber handgun with an extended magazine as well as suspected narcotics. Court records show Holmes is being held without bail on narcotics and handgun offenses.

Holmes is a friend of the girl's mother, according to the interim commissioner. She has not been charged in shooting the 7-year-old girl, and officials said her involvement in the shooting was unclear as of Monday.

"We do not know if she was the target. We do not know if she was the person who fired," Tuggle said. "Ms. Holmes isn't being cooperative with us."

The car she was driving has dark tinted windows, so Tuggle noted a shooter could not see who was inside.

"It was not a random act of violence," Tuggle said. "We're trying to determine exactly what the motive was."

Investigators were looking into a white Mercedes Benz that may have been at the scene.

Police asked the public for tips about the white Mercedes, which could have dark paint transferred onto it.

The person in the white Mercedes may have shot toward the vehicle, according to Smith. He said that a total of two people were likely involved in the shooting, one of whom may have hit the girl through the trunk.

Federal officials are assisting Baltimore Police with the clarity of the grainy surveillance picture, officials said Monday.

"The investigation is still progressing," Tuggle said. "We hope to have more information about it very soon."

Have a tip? Here is how to submit the information:

• Call Baltimore Police detectives at 410-396-2100 or 410-396-2221.
• Text tips to the Baltimore Police Department at 443-902-4824.
• Call the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP; callers are anonymous.
• Download the Baltimore Police app to submit a tip online.

Still picture of Mercedes Benz via Baltimore Police/YouTube. Booking photo of Darnell Holmes from Baltimore Police Department. Picture of Taylor Hayes, 7, courtesy of Patch partner GoFundMe.