Trial Begins For 2021 Hampden Shooting, Prosecutor and Defense Debate Motive

By Amina Thiam [former] - October 26, 2022
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

“There is no question about who did this,” stated the prosecutor during opening statements on Oct 25. 

On Sept. 3, 2021, in Hampden, a 39-year-old man was fired three times while he was sitting in his parked car on the 3900 block of Falls Road.

The victim, who sustained an injury to his spinal cord, was the first witness to testify for the state immediately after opening statements were read to the jury. 

According to the victim and the prosecutor, the defendant, Christopher Mooney, retaliated when the victim insulted him on the street by pulling out a handgun and shooting him around 8:30 p.m. 

In relation to the shooting, Mooney was charged with first and second-degree attempted murder, first and second-degree assault, use of a firearm during a violent crime, possession of a firearm with a felony conviction, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, possession of firearms, having a handgun on his person, illegal possession of ammo, reckless endangerment, and discharging a firearm within Baltimore city.

According to the defense, Mooney was a former neighborhood acquaintance of the victim and had been having an affair with his girlfriend. In the victim’s court testimony, he said that the brief verbal confrontation turned violent right after he called Mooney a name as he was walking down the street. 

In response to the prosecution’s claims, Mooney’s defense attorney Andrea Jaskulsky told the jury that there was no direct forensic evidence tying her client to the scene of the crime. 

According to defense counsel, Baltimore Police officials “took the word” of the victim, who Jaskulsky said had a bias against Mooney for his alleged infidelity. 

The trial is set to resume on Oct. 26 before Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer of the Baltimore City Circuit Court.