Prince George's County leaders on Wednesday gave more insight into an ongoing rise in juvenile crime after the teen wanted in a brutal attack on a school bus and a murder in Washington, D.C. was arrested on Tuesday.
It's been nearly a month since 7News broke the story.
The U.S. Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF) took 15-year-old Kaden Dominique Holland, also known as "Baby K" into custody around 2:40 p.m. in the 6300 block of Baltimore Avenue in the Riverdale Park area without incident. Holland was alone at the time of the arrest, officials said.
"It shocked even the most veteran law enforcement officers," Prince George’s County Police (PGPD) Chief Malik Aziz said regarding the bus attack.
"'Baby K' is being charged as an adult for his "shocking crimes," Aziz said. "And it is my sincere hope that he will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
Holland is charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, assault, and firearm offenses. Additional charges are pending, according to Aziz.
Officials also said although Holland is being charged as an adult, it's PGPD's policy to not release the names of juveniles until they are convicted of a crime.
7News is choosing to release his name because he has been charged as an adult.
Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks called Holland an example of why juvenile crime is spiking.
“We can’t determine whether he was registered in school, where he lived, I mean it was this kid was roaming about apparently unsupervised and dangerous and armed,” said Alsobrooks, “Where are their parents? It’s a fair question. Where are their family members? Where are the people responsible for these youth?”
Chief Aziz said police are investigating those very questions. He’s also expressing frustration with Maryland’s newly adopted juvenile justice laws passed by the legislature with the promise of giving fewer kids criminal records but which in practice he believes are putting the community in danger.
“Those protections have given way to a protection of some people who have committed very heinous crimes,” said Aziz.
Watch the press conference below:
On Monday, May 1, three masked teens jumped onto a PGCPS school bus and targeted a 14-year-old boy -- the last remaining student on the bus. One of the masked teens pointed a gun at the boy and pulled the trigger three times.
Three times, the gun didn’t fire. Police later found three live rounds on the bus.
Prince George's County Police officers responded to the report of the assault around 4:55 p.m. Authorities later released images of the wanted teens.
Two of the three teens were taken into custody, but PGPD continued to look for "Baby K."
The preliminary investigation revealed the suspects and victims were known to each other and that the attempted murder stemmed from a dispute.
Two days later, authorities said the adult sister of a 14-year-old also charged in the bus attack was shot and killed inside a residential building in the 3700 block of Jamison Street in Northeast, D.C.
Sources told 7News' Maryland Bureau Chief Brad Bell that "Baby K" was also wanted in that incident. So far he is charged as a juvenile in that case.
Prince George’s County officials did not speak on the D.C. murder Wednesday.
Holland is due in court in Prince George’s County for a bond review Thursday. Prosecutors will ask that he be held without bond.
JUVENILE CRIME IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY
Aziz said Wednesday that so far this year, Prince George’s County has seen at least 136 shootings, with 27 of them being homicides and 69 non-contact shootings.
"Violence is becoming a prevalent and frequent way of life," the chief said. "Of the 84 arrests we've had for carjackings this year, 51 has been for juveniles."
He said this has marked the third straight year that juveniles arrested for violent carjackings have exceeded the arrests for adults.
County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said this arrest is a prime example of count officials holding juveniles and those who commit crimes accountable.
"How is it possible for a child to shoot another child and then to be able to be on the run for weeks," County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said. "Where was this child -- for a month?"
"That is the only way the violence will end," Alsobrooks said. "Our community deserves to live in a place that is safe. But we have to ask the tough question -- these are children -- who's responsible for these children?"
State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy said "each and every individual involved will be held responsible" adding that all four juveniles are being charged in the bus attack.
7News also sat down with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to discuss youth crime in the state. He shared his thoughts and goals to move the state forward from crimes.
"I agree that we got to move with more urgency. You know, when we think about what's been happening with our juveniles, and within our society, I mean, we're now going on eight straight years of having a homicide rate almost double. We're going on eight straight years of having the non-fatal shooting rate in the State of Maryland double. We have, we have a challenge in our state of the issue of violence, that is rupturing so many of our young people. And so there has got to be increased measurements of accountability," Gov. Moore said.
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