Father-to-be killed Sunday in Southwest Baltimore police shooting was 17, sold snowballs

A memorial on the Central Southwest Baltimore street where police fatally shot a teenager Sunday night affirms his age — 17 — in big, blue numbers.

On the brick wall on North Stricker Street, friends and family had written messages of love. Part of the memorial, a sheet of poster board signed with messages, was covered up on Wednesday afternoon ahead of expected rain as a group of teenagers took pictures in front of it.

Officials investigating the police shooting had not released the teen’s name or age. Those who knew him but declined to provide their names, citing safety concerns, identified him as William Gardner, a 17-year-old who was set to become a father within the next few weeks. A man answering the phone at nearby Aziz Grocery & Tobacco on West Baltimore Street said Gardner had worked for a while at a snowball stand that was occasionally set up out front of the store.

Gardner attended the Excel Academy at Francis M. Wood High School in central Southwest Baltimore until mid-January, according to a Baltimore City Public Schools spokesperson.

Sources close to the investigation, speaking anonymously because his identity hadn’t been released, confirmed the teen’s name and age. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner also confirmed it was investigating a case under Gardner’s name and had ruled his death a homicide.

The Maryland Attorney General’s office, which is investigating the shooting along with Baltimore Police, said Tuesday that officers had opened fire on the minor Sunday night after they said he displayed a handgun during a police pursuit that started on North Gilmor Street. Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said Sunday night that he had been stopped because he showed “ characteristics of an armed person, ” though he could not elaborate on what those characteristics were.

There was a brief pursuit and a struggle before the teen showed a handgun, Worley said, and three officers shot at him. Officers rendered aid to the teen, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A loaded handgun was found near him.

The Attorney General’s office said they would not identify the teen, citing privacy laws, though they noted that body camera footage would eventually be released. A Baltimore Police spokesperson said “the names of those involved” would be disclosed “in accordance with our policy.”