Taneytown man arrested after July 4 shooting

BALTIMORE – A 20-year-old man was arrested Saturday for his involvement in the July 4 road rage incident that left one person dead and several injured in Taneytown.

Davon Joseph Dabbs was taken into custody at his Taneytown home and transported to the Carroll County Central Booking Office Saturday evening, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said.

He is charged with premeditated murder, two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault.

The night of the shooting

The incident occurred Thursday evening near Taneytown Pike.

The police responded shortly before 10 p.m.

WJZ investigator Mike Hellgren reviewed the calls to police dispatch.

“The caller can hear a fight in progress,” the dispatcher said on the recording. “The caller hears noises. Unsure if it’s gunshots or fireworks.”

The number of injured rose rapidly.

“We have a shot in the leg and one in the face and it sounds like there’s a third shot in there now,” says the audio recording obtained by Broadcastify.

Police told WJZ that a car and a pickup truck were traveling on Route 140 when the DUI incident occurred.

Investigators learned that the situation escalated when Dabbs and his 26-year-old passenger, also from Taneytown, drove off the highway and began fighting with 33-year-old Christopher Patrick Moore.

During the altercation, Moore’s 33-year-old fiancée arrived at the scene and got out of her vehicle.

Moore’s fiancée pulled out her legally purchased and carried handgun and opened fire in hopes it would deescalate the attack, she told investigators.

Instead, Dabbs lunged at her and tried to take the gun from her, shooting Dabbs in the left leg.

At some point, Dabbs managed to get hold of the gun and attacked her, hitting her several times in the face.

Dabbs then fired several shots, one of which hit his passenger in the hand and two of which hit Moore in the chest.

Moore’s fiancé suffered a broken jaw and injuries to his head and face and was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.

Dabbs and his passenger were taken to a regional hospital for medical treatment of their injuries, which were not life-threatening.

Moore was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. None of the other occupants of the vehicles were injured.

Neighbors say something like this has never happened there before

Hellgren says this happened in a rural area on a dead-end road. Neighbors said nothing like this had ever happened there before, and some thought the shots were Fourth of July fireworks.

“It’s just unbelievable. It’s just so strange for this area. Normally it’s very safe here. It’s strange,” said Gary Combs of Carroll County. “It’s just sad. This is a very safe area. It’s just sad.”

If anyone has additional information regarding this incident, please contact Detective Ehrhart at 410-386-2599 or [email protected].