Teenager Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of Gwynn Oak Siblings: Police

Updated at 6:11 p.m.

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Officials on Wednesday confirmed that a 16-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of two siblings in the Gwynn Oak area.

Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough identified the teenager as Keith Maurice Jones Jr. of Baltimore, who will be charged as an adult in the case.

McCullough said Jones was known to both 9-year-old Steve Allen and 15-year-old Giovanna Myrie, adding that he could not say with absolute certainty whether the 16-year-old was dating Myrie.

"They were known to each other, and they had some type of relationship," McCullough said, adding that Allen may have been shot "because he was a witness."

Police have not yet said what prompted the shooting.

Jones, according to McCullough, was initially one of several suspects considered in the case. The police chief said surveillance footage was key in narrowing down suspects.

It remains unclear how Jones got access to a gun and whether the parents of Allen and Myrie knew him. McCullough said Jones had been at the home before the siblings died.

Jones remains held at the Baltimore County Detention Center. He was denied bail.

What Happened At The Gwynn Oak Home?

The Baltimore County Police Department first announced on July 7 that an investigation was underway after Allen and Myrie were found fatally shot inside their home.

The shooting was reported to authorities by the parents of the two siblings. The discovery was made just as they returned to their Gwynn Oak home on the 6100 block of Talles Road.

Related: Baltimore Co. Police Identify 2 Children Killed In Gwynn Oak Home

At the time, McCullough said the shooting was an isolated incident and an unexpected case in a community where police typically responded to speeding, noise or neighbor complaints.

"Never have I seen something like this before in this neighborhood," the chief previously said.

The arrest was announced a day after the funeral was held for the two siblings at St. Casimir Church on O’Donnell Street in Baltimore.