‘Life is broken now’: Mother says son was murdered in Silver Spring days before 19th birthday

SILVER SPRING, Md. - The pain of a grief-stricken mother resonated in her trembling voice Wednesday morning as she spoke to FOX 5 about the death of her son who was gunned down in a Silver Spring park just two days before his 19th birthday.

Miriam Ortiz had planned a surprise party for her son Christian's 19th birthday, which would have been on Thursday. Instead of a surprise celebration, Ortiz said she was shocked when police knocked on her door at 3 a.m. to tell her that her son was dead and that she had to go to the medical examiner's office in Baltimore to identify him.

"My life is broken now," she told FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick. "Nobody has any idea what is the pain from my heart now."

Ortiz told Alnwick that she tried for years to get her son help with drugs. She said drugs are a pressing issue in her Montgomery County community and are the cause of major problem.

Detectives say the shooting happened around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night when calls came in from people who heard loud gunshots in the 700 block of Seek Lane.

Officers arrived to find Christian in the Seek Lane Neighborhood Park suffering from gunshot wounds to the upper body.

READ MORE: Man found shot to death in Silver Spring park

Police started CPR while Fire and EMS crews made their way to the playground area. But Christian died on the scene. 

Ortiz told Alnwick she actively works in the neighborhood seeking help with the community’s gang and opioid problems. She said she has also contacted politicians and has visited Annapolis searching for help with the drug and violence crisis in her neighborhood.

At this point, it's too early for investigators to say what the motive is, or whether any kind of drug activity was involved. Alnwick says witnesses reported seeing at least two people running from the park, but at this point, Montgomery County Police have not been able to put out any active suspect descriptions for the community.

The investigation is still continuing.