On Wednesday evening, at approximately 10:07, Officers from the Laurel Police Department were dispatched to the Hollybrook Apartments area in response to a shots-fired complaint. While officers were en route, additional 911 calls reported a subject shot at Carvel Gardens Apartments. Dispatchers provided descriptions of two vehicles seen leaving the scene, which were relayed to the responding officers.
As multiple Laurel officers and Delaware State Police Troopers converged on the area, a Laurel officer observed a vehicle matching one of the suspect vehicle descriptions at the intersection of Grazing Court and Discount Land Road according to police. The officer conducted a traffic stop, detaining the vehicle’s four occupants, two adults and two juveniles, while additional units responded to both locations.
Officers discovered a 17-year-old male with a gunshot wound at Carvel Gardens and determined that the shooting had occurred on Pasture Lane in the Hollybrook Apartments. Securing both scenes, officers confirmed that the vehicle stopped on Discount Land Road was indeed the suspect vehicle and that the alleged shooter was a passenger police said.
The female victim was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Given the need to process multiple locations for the investigation, the Seaford and Blades Police Departments dispatched officers to assist with scene security.
Officials said further investigation identified the suspected shooter as a 17-year-old male from Bridgeville. He was arrested and charged by the Laurel Police Department with assault in the second degree, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, and aggravated menacing. The juvenile male was arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 7 with representation from the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families (DSCYF) and a parent present. He was committed to the custody of Stevenson House Juvenile Detention Center in lieu of $12,000 secured bail.
During the initial traffic stop, the driver of the suspect vehicle, Chantel T. Parker, aged 38, of Laurel, exhibited multiple signs of alcohol impairment according to police. A DUI investigation determined she was unable to safely operate a motor vehicle police added.
Parker was arrested and charged by the Laurel Police Department with third offense driving under the influence and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child by DUI. Parker was committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on an intoxication hold until she was ready for arraignment police said.
This remains an active investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Laurel Police Department at 302-875-2244 or by direct message.