Mother Charged with Attempted Murder Found Guilty of Assault, Weapons Charges

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A 39-year-old single mother was found not guilty of attempted murder on Nov. 1 after accidentally shooting the wife of a man who was harassing her. Although she will not face the attempted murder charges, the woman was found guilty of first and second-degree assault, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and having a handgun on her person.

According to defense attorney Augustine Okeke, his client, Niaja McCoy, was charged with attempted first and second-degree murder among other charges in connection to a shooting nearly a year earlier on Nov. 24, 2021. McCoy was allegedly being taunted and bullied by the victim’s husband and attempted to get a restraining order for harassment.

When the defendant learned that the victim’s husband had a picture of her youngest son on his phone, Okeke said his client confronted the man and attempted to shoot him, but instead, accidentally shot his wife having had no experience using a gun.

While the prosecutor argued that the defendant “casually” fired the gun at the victim, striking her in her abdomen and hip, Okeke argued that McCoy never met the victim and was only trying to defend herself and her family.

The jury returned its verdict after a five-day trial before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Anthony Vittoria and McCoy is scheduled to return to court for a Zoom collateral hearing on March 22, 2023.