Crofton Teen Shot at Parents, Police Say

Family Argument Preceded Incident; Youth Caught in N.J.

Thomas Reimann, 17, is charged with attempted second-degree murder in a shooting at his house in Crofton. (By Michael Robinson-chavez -- The Washington Post)

In the heat of an argument over the family's ailing black poodle, police say, the teenage son of a federal agent strapped on his father's body armor, camouflage gear and service weapon early yesterday, walked into the kitchen of their Crofton home and fired at his parents, then fled in their car.

No one was harmed. After a six-hour search, police captured 17-year-old Thomas Reimann without incident at 9 a.m. at a relative's home in North Caldwell, N.J., and recovered the handgun.

He had driven there in his parents' 2006 Toyota Camry with the .40-caliber semiautomatic weapon, the body armor and "some extra ammunition" from his father's stores, said Sgt. Shawn Urbas, spokesman for the Anne Arundel County police.

Reimann was charged with one count of attempted second-degree murder and with assault, reckless endangerment and use of a handgun in commission of a felony. He was charged as an adult, Urbas said, "because of the seriousness of the crime. When somebody is discharging a firearm in the direction of two people and wearing body armor, the crime is serious."

The argument broke out in the Reimann home between 2 and 3 a.m. yesterday after the parents returned from an animal hospital with the dog, which "had been acting strange," Urbas said. The parents argued with their son over "something about the dog," Urbas said, and the dispute quickly escalated.

Urbas said he didn't know anything more about the argument.

The son left the room, then returned to the kitchen with his father's weapon. According to police, he fired into the kitchen floor near where his mother, Katherine, was standing. When his father, Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Mark Reimann, entered the room, the son fired at him, police said.

Crofton police reached the home about 3 a.m., shortly after the son left.

Mark and Katherine Reimann had moved to the Washington suburbs in September with Thomas and his younger sister. The new family fit in nicely on Shaftsbury Avenue, part of a community of two-story homes on winding streets.

"We saw the two kids out there raking leaves, and we were joking, 'We can't wait until our kids are old enough to do that,' " said Patti Hunt, a neighbor across the street.

Thomas Reimann lives within the attendance district of South River High School in Edgewater, but two senior class officers at the school said they did not know him. School system officials said the student's personal data were restricted, presumably because of his father's profession.

The Reimanns previously lived in Caldwell, N.J. John Brady, who lived near their home on Hickory Drive, recalled Reimann as "a typical teenager -- a tall, gangly teenager" and the poodle as "a barker." He said he didn't get to know the Reimanns well.

Others who know the family better, including a relative in Edison, N.J., and a next-door neighbor who helped them move into their Crofton home, declined to speak of the incident, citing the family's wishes.

No one was inside the white-brick home yesterday afternoon. A wreath hung by the front door, and two decorative holiday deer stood by the empty driveway.