The release of a viral video on the HCPD’s social media platforms this week led to the identification and arrest of a suspect in another state after a shooting and attempted robbery in Howard County.
Howard County police have obtained an arrest warrant for Shantay Lashay O’Donnell, 46, of Virginia Beach, Va., for attempted murder in the shooting of a Shell gas station clerk in Columbia April 17. She is currently being held in New York on unrelated charges and will be served with the Howard County charges, which include first- and second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, handgun violations, and attempted armed robbery.
Officers in New York came into contact with O’Donnell and determined she was wanted in Virginia on unrelated robbery charges. Police personnel in New York reported that after taking O’Donnell into custody, they recognized her from a video released on social media by HCPD (seen below) the previous day as the unidentified shooter at a Columbia gas station. Authorities reached out to Howard County detectives to provide O’Donnell’s identity and report she was in custody.
Police responded around 7:43 p.m. on April 17 to the Shell gas station in the 7200 block of Cradlerock Way for a report of a shooting. They discovered an employee, Rab Nawaz, 65, of Columbia, suffering from a gunshot wound. Nawaz was transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center and is currently in serious condition.
O’Donnell is currently being held in the Broome County Correctional Facility in New York. Authorities are working to determine when she will be transported to Maryland or Virginia.
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