On a tragic evening in Baltimore, Maryland, the life of 46-year-old Julie Rice, a Black female, was cut short by an act of sudden violence. On September 12, 2020, Rice and four other women were on a porch in the 2800 block of Clifton Park Terrace when a man emerged from a nearby house and began shouting at them to leave the area. The man, identified as Dandre Woods-Bethel, went back into his residence only to reappear moments later armed with a gun.
Without further warning, Woods-Bethel
opened fire on the group of women. Both Julie Rice and 23-year-old Michelle Green were struck by the gunfire. The two women were rushed to Johns Hopkins Hospital, but both ultimately succumbed to their injuries. The other three women on the porch were also shot at but were not physically harmed. In a strange turn of events, after the shooting, Woods-Bethel himself called 911 to report the incident before surrendering to the police who had arrived at the scene. He was arrested without incident.
During the subsequent investigation, while alone in an interview room, Woods-Bethel made several incriminating statements, including, 'I should have used hollow points,' and 'I didn't mean to hurt them,' claiming he was protecting his family. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, and multiple handgun-related offenses. Following a lengthy trial process, Dandre Woods-Bethel was found guilty on all counts. For the murders of Julie Rice and Michelle Green, he received two life sentences, to be served consecutively, in addition to 28 years for the other charges.
