Malik Buhari, a 30-year-old man, was fatally shot in Parkville, Maryland, during the early morning hours of July 21, 2026. Baltimore County police were called to the 8500 block of Chestnut Oak Road at about 1 a.m. after reports of gunfire. Officers found Buhari suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Investigators soon began reconstructing the events that had unfolded before the shooting. According to charging documents later described by authorities, Buhari had been at the home of a woman with whom he was in a relationship. During the night, the woman began receiving repeated telephone calls from Roderick Gardner Jr., who she told investigators was someone with whom she had previously been in a relationship.
At approximately 12:40 a.m., Gardner allegedly called the woman's phone again. This time, Buhari answered. Investigators said an argument developed during the call, with Gardner allegedly telling Buhari to come outside. Buhari subsequently left the residence and walked toward the intersection of Chestnut Oak Road and White Oak Avenue. There, according to the charging documents, he met two other individuals identified only by the initials or nicknames “D” and “J.” The woman followed Buhari outside and attempted to persuade him to return to the house, but he remained outside.
The encounter then escalated into violence. The woman told investigators that Gardner approached the group at the intersection and pushed her out of the way. She alleged that Gardner then displayed a handgun and pointed it at Buhari. Faced with the weapon, Buhari began running. Gardner allegedly chased after him while firing the gun. Buhari was struck multiple times as he fled and eventually collapsed in the front yard of a residence along Chestnut Oak Road. Police responding to reports of the gunfire found him critically wounded.
Detectives developed evidence they said connected Gardner to the scene. Investigators obtained cellphone records that allegedly placed Gardner's phone in the area at the time of the killing. They also recovered surveillance footage depicting activity before, during and after the shooting. According to the charging documents, the footage showed Gardner fleeing the area after the gunfire. The combination of the witness account, cellphone information and surveillance evidence became central to the homicide investigation.
On August 4, 2026, Baltimore County homicide detectives arrested Roderick Gardner Jr., then 36, in connection with Buhari's death. Police announced the arrest the following day. Gardner was charged with multiple offenses, including first-degree murder, and was ordered held without bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center.
The allegations contained in the charging documents portray the shooting as arising from a confrontation involving Buhari, his girlfriend and her former partner, rather than as a random attack. Authorities allege that a telephone argument preceded the face-to-face encounter, after which Gardner armed himself with a handgun, confronted Buhari and pursued him while firing. Gardner's arrest transformed the investigation from an unidentified fatal shooting into an active murder prosecution. As of the most recent publicly available reporting located on the case, Gardner had been charged and detained without bond; no trial verdict or conviction had yet been reported.
