Laurel Man Shoots Baltimore Man in Murder-Attempted Suicide: Police

A Baltimore man was reportedly shot and killed Wednesday night by a Laurel man who then shot himself in what Anne Arundel County Police are calling a murder and attempted suicide.

The Washington Post reports that the shooting suspect is Robert Babauta Mendiola, faces charges of first- and second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Howard Richard Popp Jr., 39, of the Painters Place Court area of Baltimore.

Police say the shooting stemmed from an ongoing domestic dispute between Mendiola and his estranged wife, who had separated from him in July. She had obtained a protective order against Mendiola, who had been trying to reunite with his wife, but she was dating Popp.

Mendiola’s estranged wife and Popp were seated in a vehicle in the 3300 block of Sudlersville South in Laurel when the suspect approached on foot. Police say Popp and the wife got out of the vehicle, at which time Mendiola used a handgun to shoot Popp multiple times. Popp was dead when officers arrived.

The suspect then threatened to harm himself as he fled the scene on foot before being located in a shed in the 300 block of Old Line Avenue. After several attempts to talk with Mendiola failed, members of the Special Operations Section entered the shed and found him with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Mendiola was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Hospital with life-threatening injuries and is under guard pending first-degree murder charges, violation of protective order and other related charges.

Anne Arundel County homicide detectives have assumed command of the investigation. Authorities said they will not release the shooting suspect’s name until he is officially charged or dies from his injuries.

As the investigation continues police urge anyone with information to contact Detective Dan Myers of the Homicide Unit at 410-222-3413 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP or text “MCS plus your message” to CRIMES (274637); visit the website at http://www.metrocrimestoppers.net.

Phone calls are not recorded and callers remain anonymous. You may also be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.