Crowd blocks officers from getting to man fatally shot at party, Maryland cops say

Police officers responding to a shooting at a party were blocked from reaching two victims by a crowd of 60-70 people outside the building, according to a Maryland police department.

Officers responded to the party, which was being held in a basement recording studio in Odenton, about 20 miles south of Baltimore, at around 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 25, according to the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

When they arrived, dozens of people were leaving the building and “scattering” around the parking lot and the road, police said.

“The crowd would not allow officers entry to the establishment,” the police department said in a statement.

Two shooting victims were at the party — one in the parking lot trying to get away and another inside the doorway of the building, according to police.

“The crowd was actively impeding officers from rendering aid to either victim,” the statement says.

After more officers arrived, they made a line and pushed the crowd back, allowing paramedics from a local fire department to get to the victims.

The victim who was in the parking lot, a 30-year-old man, was taken to a trauma center with “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” according to the statement. The victim inside the doorway of the building, Alexander Leon Gray Jr., 38, was pronounced dead, police said.

Police are investigating the shooting.