A motorist who confronted squeegee workers with a baseball bat in downtown Baltimore was gunned down in a heated confrontation, police said.
Timothy Reynolds, 48, was pronounced dead at a hospital Thursday following a late afternoon encounter with a group of youngsters cleaning car windshields for cash at Light and Conway streets near the city’s Inner Harbor, Baltimore police said.
No arrests have been made as of early Friday in the open and active investigation, a police spokeswoman told The Post.
Police Commissioner Michael Harrison told reporters Reynolds drove through the intersection and parked before hopping out of his car with a baseball bat, the Baltimore Sun reported.
Reynolds then “swung the bat” at one or more of the workers, Harrison said.
“In return, one of the squeegee workers pulled out a gun,” the chief continued.
It’s unclear how many shots were fired, but witnesses said they heard three rounds. Just hours earlier, Harrison said police confiscated a pellet gun from a squeegee worker at the same intersection, the Baltimore Sun reported.
“This is a very complex situation where someone took matters into his own hands, whatever you believe about that,” Harrison told reporters.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the deadly confrontation is yet “another sad reminder” that petty beefs often escalate into violence.
“I want to be very clear – if you are on the streets of Baltimore and endanger the safety of other or turn to violence to solve your problems, we will hold you accountable,” Scott said in a statement.
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby echoed Scott’s sentiment, blasting the shooting as a “heinous act of violence” that should serve as a flashpoint fo the city.
“There are too many guns on our streets and those who willingly turn to violence as a means of resolving conflicts will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Mosby said.
Baltimore’s police chief said it’s unclear whether Reynolds struck any of the squeegee workers with the bat he wielded. The group of kids ran off after the shooting and “made good of their escape,” Harrison said.
Anyone with video of the shooting is being urged to contact Baltimore police at (410) 396-2100.
Some Inner Harbor residents, meanwhile, said she and many of her neighbors have grown tired of squeegee workers – primarily teen boys who start cleaning windows often without being asked, WBFF reported.
“People are feeling they need to come here and protect themselves,” Jolene Allen told the station. “They bash the window if they don’t give them money … You can’t even stand here and not feel like you might get shot by errant gunfire.”