The father of Aaron Thomas Brice, 19, of Silver Spring, said Tuesday he was struggling with the death of his son, who was killed in a shooting in Harper’s Choice early Sunday.

“It’s tough. He’s my first-born, my only son. It’s a senseless act. He’s leaving me to mourn,” said Anthony Brice, 48, of Silver Spring.  “We’re taking it pretty tough (as a family),” he added, referring to his wife, Sandra, and Aaron’s 14-year old sister, Aaliyah.

Anthony Brice said he got a call early Sunday morning and drove out to the scene of the shooting. He and his family have tried to piece together what happened. He said Aaron initially wasn’t going to go the Halloween party Saturday night at the Manorstone Lane home in west Columbia.

“They actually were not going to go to this ,” Anthony Brice said. “Some other friends kept saying, ‘You’ll be safe, a big old house, you’ll be fine.’ It didn’t work out that way.”

Anthony Brice said his son went to the party with about seven people and that those friends came to his house on Tuesday morning to tell him what they witnessed. They said a fight broke out in the basement of the home between two groups, and that Aaron wasn’t involved. “An argument escalated on one side of the basement,” Anthony Brice said. “He (Aaron) wasn’t even involved in what was going on in the other side of this basement. He and his friends were, `Lets go.’ ”
 
Anthony Brice said he was told Aaron left the house as the fight escalated and got shot while leaving. His body was found on the driveway.

“My son got hit in the crossfire outside of the house,” he said. “They sprayed the house and he got hit,” he said.

He said his son did not know the shooter.

Devin “Devon” O’Brian Dixon, 22, of the 8000 block of Paul Martin Drive, in Elkridge, is charged with first-degree murder, according to police. Dean Schroyer, 21, of the same address, is charged as an accessory to the murder after the fact and with a drug violation, according to police.

Dixon declined a public defender Tuesday morning and said he wanted to wait to employ an attorney before his bail review was heard, according Wayne Kirwan, a spokesman for Howard County State’s Attorney Dario Broccolino.
 
Schroyer was released on bond Monday, according to Kirwan. Information on the amount of Schroyer’s bond was not immediately available.

Aaron Thomas Brice’s funeral will be held Monday, Nov. 9 at The Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church at 610 Rhode Island Ave, NE Washington, DC. The viewing will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and the funeral will be held from 11 to 12 p.m. Brice is survived by his father, Anthony, his mother, Sandra, and sister, Aaliyah.

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user comments (1)

user dbird says...

Our hearts go out to you Brice family. God Bless you during this tragic time.

Posted 2:24 PM, 11.05.09 | Permalink