In the afternoon of January 13, 2023, 18-year-old Joseph Kawa, a Black male, was fatally shot in Baltimore, Maryland. The incident occurred at approximately 2:24 p.m. in the unit block of South Caton Avenue. Kawa was one of three people sitting inside a silver Honda Accord at the intersection with Lohrs Street when another vehicle approached. Four individuals, dressed in black and wearing masks, exited a gray Infiniti and fired at least 45 shots into the Honda.
When police arrived at the
scene, they found Kawa unresponsive inside the car. He had sustained two gunshot wounds, one to the head and another to the thigh. He was rushed to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died shortly after arrival. A second victim in the car, a 17-year-old male, suffered a non-life-threatening graze wound to the head. Two firearms were later discovered inside the victims' vehicle, though there was no indication that they had been fired.
Nearly two months after the shooting, on March 2, 2023, police arrested 20-year-old Benjamin Rowland, Jr. in connection with the homicide. Investigators had used surveillance footage to link a gray Infiniti with distinctive trunk damage to the crime scene, and Rowland was driving the vehicle when he was stopped. A Glock 19 handgun was reportedly found in his waistband at the time of the arrest. A firearms expert later determined that seven of the 45 shell casings recovered from the shooting scene were consistent with Rowland's handgun.
Benjamin Rowland, Jr. was the only individual charged in connection with the incident. He faced multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and various firearm offenses. During his trial in April 2024, the prosecution presented evidence including cell phone location data placing Rowland near the scene and a jail call in which he allegedly made incriminating statements. The defense argued that the victims were involved in a violent lifestyle and that the evidence against Rowland was circumstantial.
