On the night of October 7, 2024, 26-year-old Damien Parker, a Black man, was shot in the 2300 block of Harford Road in East Baltimore. Police arrived at about 10:56 p.m. to find him with life-threatening gunshot wounds; he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. A medical examiner determined he died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Homicide detectives focused on a black Infiniti seen on surveillance near Harford Road and Normal Avenue. Two days after the shooting, officers pursued a similar vehicle; the driver stopped and ran, reportedly discarding an object into the backyard of a vacant house. Officers recovered a Taurus G2c .40-caliber handgun there. Ballistics linked that handgun to Parker’s shooting, and DNA from the weapon was consistent with Matthew Kintay Harper Jr., then 29. Police arrested Harper and charged him with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and other handgun offenses.

In September 2026 Harper, then 30, went on trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court. Prosecutors relied on surveillance footage, the black Infiniti, the recovered firearm, and DNA evidence; the defense argued the prosecution had not proven Harper was inside the car at the time of the shooting.

If anyone witnessed the shooting, saw the Infiniti near Harford Road and Normal Avenue that night, or has other information, please share what is known.