Dieneba Sekou Traore, a 48-year-old mother from Columbia, has received a 20-year prison sentence following a shooting that injured two teenagers. The shooting occurred in a parking lot at a shopping center in Howard County last year, according to WMAR2 News.
On the evening of October 12, 2024, Howard County authorities went quickly to the 8800 block of Centre Park Drive, where they located two youths suffering from gunshot wounds to their legs. The incident sparked a comprehensive investigation, ultimately leading officials to Traore, who seemed to take action following her son’s armed robbery a week earlier.
Traore accused the teens of involvement in the incident and publicly indicated her willingness to effectively break the law if authorities did not act quickly. She was convicted of many offenses, including two counts of attempted second-degree murder, according to WBALTV. According to the records, when her son was robbed, Traore confronted the parents of one of the suspected minors, denouncing their son directly. Traore later expressed her dissatisfaction with the pace of the police investigation in a statement to the authorities. Traore said, “I don’t want to be in a position where we have to protect our kids when (you all) are the ones hired to do that,” according to the charging documents.
“This case is a tragic reminder of the dangers of taking the law into your own hands,” stated Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson, Jr. The prosecutor emphasized the gravity of Traore’s actions and affirmed the judicial system’s role in maintaining order: “Vigilante justice has no place in Howard County, and it will not be tolerated,” he declared in a statement. Post her incarceration, Traore will be placed on five years of supervised probation, WMAR2 News reported.
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