Shooting Near UMMC: Man Charged With Attempted Murder

BALTIMORE, MD — An employee of the University of Maryland School of Medicine was shot Monday morning near the University of Maryland Medical Center, according to officials. Police said the suspected shooter was arrested and charged with attempted murder and other offenses.

Jamar Haughton, 26, of the 900 block of Lemmon Street, is being held at central booking, police reported Monday evening.

Haughton was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment other offenses related to firearms, according to officials.

The charges stemmed from a shooting Monday morning near the medical campus.

Officers from the central district were called to the 600 block of West Redwood Street for a report of a shooting at 7:15 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 4, according to the Baltimore Police Department.

They found a 24-year-old man who had been shot in the face and buttocks, police said.

The victim is a "valuable member of the University of Maryland School of Medicine community," according to Dr. Thomas Scalea, physician in chief for the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

The shooting victim was "critically ill" and on life support, Scalea said at a 10 a.m. press conference.

"He is actively undergoing procedures to treat his injuries," Scalea said. "We are of course quite hopeful that everything will be OK but it's way too early to tell that at this point."

Of the shooting, Scalea said: "Been doing this a long time...this one is as close to home as it has ever been."

By 6:30 p.m., police said the victim's condition had been upgraded from critical to stable.

University of Maryland Police apprehended a 26-year-old person of interest and recovered a loaded handgun two blocks from the scene, police reported.

The suspected shooter and the victim are "known acquaintances," according to Lt. Col. Kevin Jones, who said the shooting was an isolated incident.

The University of Maryland Medical Center issued a statement indicating the hospital was operating normally Monday morning.

From about 8 to 8:45 a.m., Baltimore Street was closed from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Greene Street, according to the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, which attributed the closure to police activity.

The Baltimore Police Department is asking anyone with information to call 410-396-2221.

Photo of James Haughton courtesy of the Baltimore Police Department.