Three 16-year-old boys have been charged as adults in connection with an armed carjacking at an East Towson shopping center, Baltimore County police said.
Officers were called around 8:55 p.m. Sunday to a shopping center in the 6800 block of Loch Raven Boulevard for reports of an armed carjacking.
The Charges
Detectives arrested the three teens on adult charges of armed carjacking, first-degree assault, armed robbery, and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.
No further information was immediately released. Police have not said whether a weapon was recovered or whether anyone was injured.
The Investigation
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Baltimore County police.
The Bottom Line
Three 16-year-old boys have been charged as adults in an armed carjacking at a shopping center on Loch Raven Boulevard in Towson, Maryland. Police responded Sunday night around 8:55 p.m. The teens face charges of armed carjacking, first-degree assault, armed robbery, and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. Police have not released additional details.
My Opinion
Three 16-year-olds. Charged as adults. Armed carjacking, first-degree assault, armed robbery, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. These are not minor offenses. They are violent crimes. And the decision to charge them as adults reflects the seriousness of what happened Sunday night on Loch Raven Boulevard.
Some will argue that 16-year-olds are children, that the justice system should prioritize rehabilitation over punishment, that charging minors as adults does more harm than good. Those are legitimate arguments. But they become harder to make when the crime involves a weapon and a victim. An armed carjacking is a violent felony that can end in death.
The question is not whether these three teens deserve consequences. They do. The question is whether the system that prosecutes them will also ask why this happened. Why are 16-year-olds committing armed carjackings in Towson? What failed? The schools? The families? The community? The answer is complicated. But if we only punish the symptom and never treat the disease, we will be writing the same story again next month with three different names.
