BALTIMORE — A new investigative report from the Maryland Attorney General's Office sheds new light on a shooting spree last November that left two barbers dead.
The report analyzes the actions that day of off-duty Baltimore Police Sergeant David Burch, who killed the gunman after witnessing one of the murders.
The deadly series of events started around 2:30pm on November 13, 2021.
That's when Carlos Ortega, 38, got into some kind of argument with a man on E. Oliver Street.
The report reveals for the first time that Ortega had been stabbed by that unnamed individual, with a knife.
Ortega then retaliated by shooting the man. He survived, but Ortega's next two targets did not.
Although it's unclear what the initial argument was about, a search of Ortega’s cell phone showed text messages indicating he felt threatened and extorted by someone. The report however didn't specify who the person was.
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After the shooting, Ortega made his way over to Crown Barbershop on Eastern Avenue where he shot and killed 44-year-old Javier Villegas Cotto.
From there, he drove to Blady Style Barber Shop on O’Donnell Street.
Witnesses recalled Ortega racking the slide of a handgun and approaching Rafael Jeffers, 33, who was in the process of cutting Sgt. Burch's hair.
“This is for you not to mess with anyone,” Ortega reportedly yelled, before shooting Jeffers multiple times.
Afterwards, Ortega told Burch to get out of the way before again approaching Jeffers, who was lying wounded on the ground.
This gave Burch time to pull his off-duty weapon from a bag and shoot Ortega.
Up to this point, Burch had no idea that Ortega already shot two other men.
The report does not disclose why exactly Ortega sought out Jeffers and Cotto, or whether they were connected to the text messages found in his cell phone.
One witness told police they'd never seen Ortega before the shooting, and that Jeffers made no mention of having a problem with anyone.
In their report, investigators concluded that Sgt. Burch acted reasonably and in self defense.
The full report can be read here.
