UPDATE: Firebombing Suspect Is In Custody, Baltimore Police Say

UPDATE (March 20) — Police said that Antonio Wright, the 26-year-old Baltimore man accused of firebombing a house on Greenmount Avenue, has been detained.

Wright turned himself in to authorities in the 1200 block of Greenmount Avenue Monday, near the scene of the crime where a house fire erupted Saturday, claiming the lives of two teens, police said.

He will be served with an arrest warrant charging him with two counts of first-degree murder, among other offenses, according to Baltimore Police Chief of Media Relations T.J. Smith.

BALTIMORE, MD — There is a new Public Enemy No. 1 in Baltimore, and anyone who knows where he is may earn up to $12,000 in reward money, police say.

Antonio Wright, 26, allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails into a rowhouse on Greenmount Avenue Saturday morning while there were eight people inside, according to officials.

The resulting house fire killed two teenage boys and sent six other people to the hospital, including one with life-threatening injuries, police said.

"We believe this is an act of retaliatory violence," Baltimore Police Media Chief T.J. Smith said Sunday.

Related: 2 Teens Killed In Greenmount Avenue Arson

Firefighters responded to the 1200 block of Greenmount Avenue at 5 a.m. on Saturday and found two bodies in the top level of the rowhouse in east Baltimore.

The deceased have been identified as Shi-Heem Sholto, 19, of Baltimore, and Tyrone James, 17, of Baltimore, according to Smith, who said neither resided at the home. It was too soon to say whether they were the targets of the violence, and it was unknown why they were sleeping there, he added.

Six other people in the house at the time of the fire were treated at area hospitals. A 4-year-old boy, 11-year-old boy, 16-year-old girl, 17-year-old girl and 38-year-old woman were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released, police said.

A 20-year-old woman who jumped from the third floor of the burning house sustained life-threatening injuries and remains hospitalized in critical condition Sunday afternoon, according to authorities.

Police believe the firebombing was connected to a nonfatal shooting that occurred earlier in the week. At 10:50 p.m. on Thursday, the victim of that shooting ran into the Greenmount Avenue home. The shooting victim was not in the home at the time of the fire but he is "related to the house in some way," Smith said.

"We know that there's an existing beef between people in that home and possibly Antonio Wright," Smith said. "We know that the home was targeted."

Other criminals including gang members and drug dealers consider children off-limits in acts of retaliation, Smith said, explaining why he considered Wright "psychopathic" based on his alleged actions.

"Whatever the beef was...it didn't have anything to do with a 4-year-old and 11-year-old," Smith said, describing the act of firebombing the house as "heinous."

Investigators quickly identified the fire Saturday morning as arson and later named the suspect as Wright based upon surveillance footage, witness information, tips and investigative work, according to officials.

Smith said the firebombing was premeditated and "meticulously" planned, from the suspect filling the canisters for the Molotov cocktails to "busting in the front door" to throw them inside.

Wright is described as 6 feet 1 inch tall and 190 pounds, and two agencies are offering reward money for information about his location; see the end of the article for how to submit tips.

Firebombing a home with eight people inside, killing two boys, is "absolutely unacceptable to Baltimore," Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said. "It's an act that shocks the conscience."

While there is not any "hard and fast criteria" for designating someone as Public Enemy No. 1, "when the victims are vulnerable, when the victims are young or old or otherwise have no criminal lifestyle that should ever make them susceptible to being targeted in a crime like this," that qualifies, Davis said.

"We've caught every other Public Enemy No. 1, and we intend to catch Antonio Wright," Davis said. "We've never done it alone," he noted, adding that community and federal partners were essential.

Due to potential federal violations, the ATF has become involved in the investigation. An ATF spokesman said the case centered around what appeared to be a "premeditated, evil crime" but said he could not comment on the evidence due to the preliminary state of the investigation.

How To Submit Tips

The ATF is offering a $10,000 reward for information regarding the location of Antonio Wright. Call 1-888-ATF-TIPS, email atftips@atf.gov or submit a tip online.

People can also contact the Baltimore Police Department by texting tips to 443-902-4824 or using the Baltimore Police app.

There is a $2,00 reward offered through Metro Crime Stoppers; call 1-866-7-LOCKUP.

"Antonio Wright deserves to be behind bars for the rest of his natural life," Commissioner Davis said, "and as soon as we bring him into custody, he can begin that journey behind bars."

Images via Baltimore Police Department.