Howard police continued to search for a man they say stabbed two people in their Columbia residence Saturday morning as neighbors expressed shock at the attack.
“It’s a nice little neighborhood,” Bryant Young said, standing in front of his house in the 10300 block of Twin Rivers Road in Roslyn Rise, a public housing community near the Wilde Lake Village Center.
“Nothing like this has ever happened,” said Young, who has lived there for 10 years.
Police said Gregory Imes, 26, broke into the house of Reginald Crudup and Maria Elana Cokely, both 51, through a sliding glass door, stabbed them multiple times and fled. Police responded to the residence at about 6:15 a.m.
Crudup and Cokely were listed in critical condition Sunday afternoon at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore City.
Grimes, of no fixed address in Columbia, is wanted for attempted first-degree murder.
Police said they believe Imes is a former friend of a family member. Crudup and Cokely were the only people home at the time, and police recovered a knife at the scene.
Police officials were unavailable Sunday for further comment.
Neighbors, including Young, said they believe Grimes was the boyfriend of Cokely’s daughter.
“It’s a shame,” Young said, adding young children, including his 7-year-old daughter, often run and play in the community, which sits across Gov. Warfield Parkway from the Mall in Columbia.
“You have to be careful who you bring home, who your kids bring home,” he said.
One resident, who declined to be name for fear of retribution while Imes is still at-large, said many youth walk through the neighborhood on their way to the mall, often loitering around the grassy areas and parking lots of the nearby housing communities.
Grimes was expected to go on trial in December for robbery and assault charges, according to court records. He also was found guilty of robbery in 2001.
Police are offering a $5,000 reward for information about Imes’ whereabouts.
Anyone with information should call 410-313-3200.
