Baltimore, Maryland: Indictment Says Leon Day Park Shooting That Killed 12-Year-Old Khloe Ishway Grew Out of an Earlier Dispute

A mass shooting that killed a 12-year-old girl at a West Baltimore youth football game on Oct. 3 was not sparked by a dispute over a parking spot, as police stated early in the investigation, a new indictment says. Prosecutors say the violence at Leon Day Park stemmed from a dispute days earlier, when Tyree Reynolds, the alleged shooter, and an associate pulled a gun on a man and hit him in the face.

The man told police he was taking part in football games at Leon Day Park two days later, on Oct. 3, when he and a friend walked past Reynolds as they were leaving. Reynolds briefly addressed the two men, then swung his backpack from around his shoulder, removed a firearm and began shooting at the men, who were standing in front of a crowded football field, the indictment says.

The man, a legal gun owner with a concealed carry permit, took cover behind a parked pickup truck and returned fire, according to the indictment. He has not been charged with a crime and is not further identified in the indictment. The man and his friend were shot and injured, and Reynolds was struck in the ankle. Twelve-year-old Khloe Ishway, a bystander, was killed, and another adult was injured.

What police said on the day

Officers responded to Leon Day Park at around 6:15 p.m. on Oct. 3 after reports of a shooting during a youth football homecoming game. Police found Ishway and a 25-year-old woman with gunshot wounds. A 28-year-old man and a 23-year-old man later arrived at area hospitals with gunshot wounds, and a 35-year-old woman sought treatment for a graze wound to her back. Ishway was taken to a hospital, where she died. The four surviving victims were reported in stable condition.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said at the time that the shooting appeared to have begun after two men argued, apparently over a parking space, and opened fire on each other. Mayor Brandon Scott condemned the shooting at the same news conference. "Two grown men got into an argument, and now a 12-year-old is gone," Scott said. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Baltimore Banner about their initial account of what prompted the shooting.

Arrest and record

Baltimore police arrested Reynolds on Oct. 6. He was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Khloe Ishway, and he also faces charges that include attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment, according to a joint statement from the mayor and the police commissioner.

Reynolds was released from prison eight days before the shooting. He had been serving time for his role in a 2021 shootout and was granted a sentence reduction after a senior official in the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement vouched for him, The Baltimore Banner reported. He is being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder and related counts.

Community members have gathered at the park for a peace walk and a vigil in memory of Khloe Ishway since the shooting.