Homicide in Salisbury kills one 14-year-old-boy, and leaves 6 others injured

SALISBURY, Md. – A community is looking for answers after a mass shooting at a block party in Salisbury early this morning.

One person is dead and several others are injured. Sheriff Mike Lewis says hundreds of people filled the streets early this morning celebrating the 4th. That celebration quickly took a turn when shots rang out.

“When troopers arrived on the scene they estimated the crowd to be about 300-400 people,” Sheriff Mike Lewis of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office said.

A Fourth of July block party turned mass shooting, filled with food, families, and fireworks is where 7 people were shot. Wednesday morning, shell casings line the street on Chippewa Boulevard. Sheriff Mike Lewis says his deputies quickly responded when they got the call.

“As they arrived on the scene they heard both semi-automatic and automatic gunfire coming from that area where the crowd was they responded to the area where the crowd was and found that multiple people had been shot including a 14-year-old young man,” the Sheriff said.

That kid, Xavier Cordaei Maddox died at the hospital. Sheriff Lewis says 6 others were also struck by gunfire, in the neck, back, foot, and thigh. A case they believe they know the motivation behind

“We do believe that this is gang related we know for a fact there were gang members involved. We are looking at a number of suspects at this time.” the Sheriff said.

And while he urges the public to remain vigilant, he does believe the suspects knew who there were looking for.

“A gunman who is using a gun illegally I think there’s a threat to the community however we do believe that these individuals were targeted we don’t believe this was a random shooting so we don’t believe there is anyone out there randomly shooting people,” the Sheriff said.

And Sheriff Lewis promises to ensure those involved are held accountable. “Our thoughts and our prayers go out to them and I want to reassure them that we are doing everything in our power to bring those responsible for what happened this morning to justice,” he said.

Sheriff Mike Lewis believes the gun violence issue isn’t just here in Salisbury but across the nation, saying it stems from a lack of accountability.

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to contact the Criminal Investigation Division at 410-548-4890.