HAMPSTEAD, Md. — A Baltimore County native and former Hereford High School student died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a weekend shooting in South Carolina.
Garrett Bakhsh, 18, of Hampstead, and two others died after a gunman walked into Mac’s Lounge on January 26 early Sunday morning and opened fire inside.
Bakhsh was hit by a stray bullet and later died from his injuries. Several others were also injured in the shooting.
Hartsville Police arrested two suspects for their role in the shooting. Darius Dickey, 20, is being held at a county jail without bond. The other suspect has yet be identified until additional warrants are served, police said.
Bakhsh was a 2019 graduate of Hereford High School. He attended Coker University where he studied criminal justice and played Lacrosse.
Kyle Leppert coached Bakhsh when he was a lacrosse player at Hereford. He says his former teammates can't believe he's gone.
“You see it in there eyes right now. They're hurting,” Leppert said. "They loss somebody they planned to stay tight with the rest of their lives."
Hereford High School's principal Joe Jira says the entire community is stunned and mourning the loss.
"He was a gregarious young man. Always had a smile on his face in the halls,” said Jira. "We're just devastated right now trying to process this whole thing."
On Wednesday, at the Hereford High School boys varsity basketball game, the school paid tribute to Bakhsh. There was a moment of silence before the game.
Leppert says the gesture before the game, along with a GoFundMe that has raised more than $60,000 for the Bakhsh family, shows how big of an impact he had on so many people.
"You realize how many people he managed to touch in a short time and how close everybody was to him,” he said.
Bakhsh's family released a statement on his death:
It is with deep regret that I confirm the death of Garrett Bakhsh, the beloved son of two Baltimore County Police Officers. Garrett, 18, was a well-liked and respected freshman at Coker University in Hartsville, South Carolina, when his life was needlessly cut short in a mass shooting at Mac’s Lounge near campus early Sunday morning. Garrett and some friends were celebrating a birthday at the live music lounge when two unknown men entered the establishment and began fighting. Both pulled out guns and started shooting, killing two people and injuring seven, Garrett included. Garrett was rushed to a hospital but died on Tuesday.
Garrett’s family and friends, both in Baltimore County and in South Carolina, are devastated. Garrett was the type of person that was literally loved by everyone he met. He graduated from Hereford High School last year where he played lacrosse, and continued his love of lacrosse playing for the men’s team at Coker University in Hartsville, South Carolina. His teammates say that he was the glue that turned a team into a family. Garrett was studying criminal justice at Coker with hopes of becoming a U.S. Marshall after he graduated. The impact that Garrett had on people was more enormous than even his family realized as hundreds of friends responded to the hospital after hearing word of Garrett’s injuries. His family would like to thank each and every one of them for the love and support they offered Garrett and themselves. It was truly meaningful.
While Garrett’s family is comforted by the news that two suspects were arrested in connection with the shooting, they and hundreds of other friends, coaches, teachers, and family members are left to deal with an enormous emptiness in their hearts. Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized but will include a private funeral for friends and family to attend.
