Bail denied for man accused of fatally shooting 12-year-old girl after ‘loud yelling’ heard

The man charged with murdering a 12-year-old girl Friday night was ordered held without bond at a bail review hearing Monday that provided few new details about the killing.

Omar Passmore, 28, appeared virtually wearing a yellow jumpsuit and standing with his hands clasped before him. He said he understood his rights but did not otherwise address the court, nor did his attorney provided by the public defender’s office.  Attorney Michelle Valenti declined to speak on Passmore’s behalf during the hearing.

Baltimore District Judge Katie M. O’Hara ordered Passmore to be held before trial, finding evidence that he posed a danger to the community. She also ordered a suicide evaluation and that he have no contact with any witnesses.

Baltimore Police said Friday night that the fatal shooting that evening of Breaunna Cormley was intentional, but provided no motive in charging documents for the murder case against Passmore. Those documents say Passmore and the 12-year-old girl’s mother have a child together.

Passmore, who was arrested Sunday , faces charges that include first-and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and firearms offenses.

The charging documents say that Passmore was alone in the house with Breaunna on Friday prior to the shooting and that “loud yelling” could be heard from inside.

“Based on witness statements and the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident, investigators believe that Omar Passmore was the only person inside the house with the victim at the time of the shooting,” police wrote.

Breaunna was found shot on the first floor of the home on Kenwood Avenue in East Baltimore’s McElderry Park neighborhood. She was remembered by neighbors on Saturday morning as a quiet girl who had recently begun to attend National Academy Foundation, a school for grades 6 to 12.

For fun, Breaunna posted TikToks rating characters in an animated television show, playing games and ranking subjects in school. Her favorite was English and her least favorite was math.

Police wrote in the charging documents that Passmore entered the house where Breaunna was home alone through the front door. Witnesses heard loud yelling while the two were inside together. He then shot and killed her “for unknown reasons,” police wrote.

Passmore was “observed briefly sitting on the front steps at the home and then quickly leaving the area on foot,” police said. He was arrested Sunday morning by Baltimore County Police.

A prosecutor in Monday’s bail review hearing noted that there may be a protective order against Passmore by someone with the same last name as Breaunna. Baltimore City court records show a temporary protective order was served in August of last year. A final protective order was “unserved” and the matter was resolved by a consent agreement. That person could not be reached for comment Monday.

Separately, Passmore has a trial scheduled in Baltimore County at the end of the month for malicious destruction of property, online court records show.

According to charges sworn out by a family member, Passmore began throwing furniture around the woman’s Baltimore County apartment, destroying a bedroom set, fireplace, soundbar, iPhone and Alexa Echo belonging to the relative on May 25.

The woman ran out of the apartment in fear and returned hours later, finding her belongings broken, including her phone, which had been smashed. She wrote that she discovered the tires on her car were flat and the front window and windshield had bullet holes.

“I felt scared and nervous,” she wrote.

The woman did not return a phone call from The Baltimore Sun seeking comment Monday.

Passmore also has pending custody matters in Baltimore County involving two other children. The mother of those two children previously accused Passmore of shoving her and threatening to kill her in 2021. A judge denied her a final protective order. The mother of the two children was not available for an interview Monday.

Baltimore Sun reporters Matt Hubbard and Dana Munro contributed to this article.