In the early morning hours of January 19, 2025, a burst of gunfire shattered the quiet of a South Baltimore neighborhood. When police arrived at the 400 block of Washburn Avenue around 8:45 a.m., they discovered two men inside a vehicle, both suffering from gunshot wounds. One of the men, a 35-year-old, was wounded but survived. The other, 43-year-old Hassan Howard, was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.
Howard was a Black male.
The investigation into the shooting was swiftly taken over by homicide detectives. For two months, they pieced together the events that led to the fatal shooting. Their efforts culminated on March 19, 2025, when they arrested 30-year-old Darren Tomlinson in the 3700 block of 2nd Street without incident. Tomlinson was subsequently charged with first-degree murder for the death of Hassan Howard and the injury of the second victim. The motive for the shooting has not been publicly released by authorities.
