Police Are Looking For Person Of Interest In Fatal Stabbing After Ravens Parade
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Search for a killer. A teen is stabbed to death just after the Ravens' victory parade. Now police have released critical new clues in the investigation.
Mike Hellgren has the new information from detectives.
There's a family that's yet to bury a 15-year-old high school freshman. But there's also hope in new pictures--including one exclusive to WJZ--that police hope will solve this case.
Police released images showing the brutal attack of 15-year-old Deontae Smith. They believe they show the teen responsible for stabbing him to death outside the McDonald's at Howard and Fayette.
Smith was among the more than 200,000 Ravens fans who gathered downtown to celebrate the team Tuesday. WJZ was there as family members came to the teenager's home in East Baltimore to comfort his mother. Some wore memorial T-shirts. The victim's uncle remembers his nephew as a wonderful young man.
"I do not want to say anything or have the family do anything to jeopardize an ongoing investigation. It's a sensitive time for my family and for the Baltimore Police Department," said Chris Jackson.
Police now tell WJZ it started as a fight and everyone involved was a teenager.
"We believe that the suspect and the victim had some type of prior disturbance dispute and we just don't know what it was about or what it entailed," said City Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
"A young person has lost their life. It is tragic. That was an unfortunate and grim reminder that there's a lot of work to do," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.
A WJZ viewer sent a picture to the station, saying they believe some of the people shown could have been involved. Police homicide investigators are looking into it, as they try to solve this brutal killing.
"A senseless attack. This was a day for Baltimore to celebrate and it's unfortunate that yet again, another incident of violence had to claim another life," Guglielmi said.
"Let us mourn. We haven't even completed arrangements for his final resting place," Jackson said.
Most of the pictures come from Baltimore CitiWatch cameras. If you have a tip that you believe can help in this case you can remain anonymous when you call police.
The young victim attended Patterson High School.
