15-Year-Old Khalil Lephonzo Johnson Fatally Shot In 'Targeted Attack' In Harford County
EDGEWOOD, Md. (WJZ) -- A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed in Harford County early Thursday morning.
The sheriff's office said the boy was fatally shot in Edgewood around 12:21 a.m.
Deputies responded to the 1900 block of Eloise Lane and found the victim inside a residence suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper body.
The teen, Khalil Lephonzo Johnson, was taken to Shock Trauma for treatment and was pronounced dead.
After investigating, officials learned Johnson was shot in the area of Brookside Drive and Eloise Lane. Deputies scanned the area with K9s, but no suspect was identified.
Officials are searching for witnesses after the gunfire cut through Fourth of July celebrations.
"I heard firecrackers at first, and then the firecrackers stopped. A gunshot went off, like, pow, pow, pow," Edgewood resident Brandon Ray said.
"He heard gunshots, and he saw people running and he heard people screaming," Cheryl Stevenson said.
Ray and Stevenson moved to Edgewood just a month ago trying to escape the violence in Baltimore city. Now, they say it feels like the violence followed them.
Deputies called the shooting a "targeted attack."
Cell phone video shows investigators on the scene where they say teenagers were hanging out in the area when someone opened fire.
Johnson reportedly had prior run-ins with law enforcement, officials said. Now, they're searching for his killer.
"(We're) talking to neighbors, talking to people in the neighborhood, trying to figure out what the motive was and any other kind of evidence," said Col. William Davis with the Harford County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators are not releasing a possible motive, but they said they have responded to gang-related crime in the area before.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Detective M. Berg at 443-409-3302.