Charles Reynolds and his family were having dinner in downtown Silver Spring to celebrate a family birthday on Dec. 21. That night, Reynolds was fatally shot in a Montgomery County-owned parking garage. Six months later, police are still searching for answers.
Reynolds had just picked up his oldest daughter from the airport after she flew in from college in Colorado for the holidays, according to Reynolds’ wife, Karis Hastings. That night they were celebrating the birthday of Hastings’ niece, her sister Mary Beth’s daughter. After dinner, the family went to Ben & Jerry’s for ice cream and Reynolds ducked out to the parking garage on Wayne Avenue to put their leftovers in the car. He never returned.
Shortly after Reynolds left for the car, Hastings said Mary Beth decided she didn’t want ice cream and also headed to the garage. She found Reynolds in the second-floor stairwell of the garage and immediately called 911, Hastings said. Six minutes elapsed between the time the group left the restaurant and the time Mary Beth called 911.
“In a six-minute timeframe, we went from celebrating and being together […] to then just the unimaginable,” Hastings said during a press conference Tuesday. “Instead of getting ready for Christmas, we were talking to the police and calling funeral homes.”
Six months after Reynolds’ murder, police are asking for the public’s help finding the killer or killers. Despite numerous hours spent interviewing witnesses, canvassing surrounding areas and searching for leads, Police Chief Marcus Jones said detectives have been unsuccessful in identifying any potential suspects.
“We’re really at our wit’s end,” he said. “At this point in time, it’s unexplainable.” In the months since the incident, police have significantly increased their presence in downtown Silver Spring, including heightened foot patrols and the use of portable surveillance cameras. The department is in the process of improving cameras in county-owned garages in partnership with the county’s Department of Transportation, Jones said. He noted that no similar violent incidents have occurred in the Silver Spring parking garages since Reynolds’ death.
Hastings described Reynolds as a loving father, husband and neighbor who was willing to do anything for anyone. She said he loved working with computer technology and spent countless hours helping at church, in the neighborhood and with local nonprofits whenever he saw a need he could meet.
“His death is a loss not just for my family, but for the larger community,” she said.
Mary Beth Hastings emphasized that Reynolds’ death is the direct result of rampant illegal gun possession and gun violence across the United States.
“This is not a Silver Spring issue,” she said. “Gun violence in this country has made every place feel unsafe.”
Police Captain Dave Reed said Montgomery County officers have recovered over 400 firearms so far this calendar year, mainly through proactive traffic enforcement. He said the department is “extremely proud” of its efforts to curb gun violence across the county.
Officials say they cannot divulge details of the case to protect the integrity of the investigation—including specifics like how many shots were fired or what type of weapon was used. When asked whether police have any theory as to the motive for Reynolds’ killing. Jones said nothing of significance was found missing from the victim, and police have no leads as to the reason for his death. Jones said oftentimes police are at least able to identify a witness who saw someone fleeing the scene or can describe a vehicle of interest, but that “in this case, we have none of that.”
Anyone who was in the area near the Wayne Avenue garage between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Dec. 21 is encouraged to contact the police department’s Major Crimes Division at 1-866-411-8477. Callers can remain anonymous, Jones said.
“Any information you may have, now matter how small it may be—it could be helpful,” he said.
Hastings said while the decision to address the public about her husband’s death for the first time was “not an easy decision to make,” she decided it was ultimately in the best interests of the public to take every step possible to bring her husband’s killer to justice.
“There are people out there who know what happened,” she said. “If there’s a chance [this] will bring a gun off the street, I’m willing to do it.”