In a case that reached back more than three decades, the life of Alan Downer, a 61-year-old male from Baltimore, Maryland, came to a tragic end on June 11, 2019. His death, however, was not the result of a recent event, but rather the long-lingering consequences of violence he endured in 1986. That year, Downer was the victim of two separate shootings. The first occurred on the evening of June 22, 1986, in the 700 block of North Carey Street.
Just a few months later, on the afternoon of September 9, he was shot again, this time in the 3900 block of West Northern Parkway.
For thirty-three years, Alan Downer lived with the health complications stemming from these violent attacks. On that Tuesday in June of 2019, he was found unresponsive in the 200 block of North Monument Street. Emergency medical personnel were called to the scene, but it was too late; Downer was pronounced dead. His body was then taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy to determine the official cause of his death.
The findings of the medical examiner were stark and unsettling. On July 16, 2019, it was announced that Alan Downer's death was being ruled a homicide. The autopsy concluded that his passing was a direct result of the health complications he suffered due to the gunshot wounds inflicted upon him decades earlier. The case, once a violent episode from the 1980s, was now an active homicide investigation. Despite this official ruling and the reclassification of the case, authorities have not publicly identified any suspects in the original shootings. To date, no arrests have been made in connection with the death of Alan Downer.
