This is another nearly tragic story out of Charm City that thankfully didn't end as horribly as it might have, and could (possibly) even carry some positive portents for the future. The very bad part of our story unfolded in May of last year on a school bus in Prince George's County, Maryland. A school bus driver stopped to pick up some teens who proceeded to board the bus. But rather than sitting down and heading to school, 16-year-old Kaeden Holland, who went by the handle of "Baby K," approached a 14-year-old boy on the bus with two of his friends and pulled out a handgun. He attempted to fire three shots into the younger boy, one in the head and two into the chest. Thankfully, the gun misfired and failed to deliver the fatal shots, but everyone on board, including the driver was seriously traumatized.

Here is where the story takes a strange twist, at least in the modern era. Normally you might expect that the teens got away or at most got a slap on the wrist. But Baby K was tracked down and arrested along with his two accomplices. He was locked up and charged with attempted first-degree murder and use of a handgun during the commission of a crime of violence, charged as an adult. Earlier this year he agreed to enter a plea deal and this week he was sentenced to 25 years in an adult prison. So does this mean that we're actually going to start taking rampant juvenile crime and gang violence seriously? (CBS News)

A teen who tried to kill a 14-year-old boy on a school bus in Prince George's County last year was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the Office of the State's Attorney for Prince George's County, Aisha Braveboy announced Friday. 

"This sentence brings closure and accountability for what took place in this case," said State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy. "It's our right in this community to be safe, to work, and to live freely without the fear of being harmed. The school bus driver, aide, and teenage victim will forever be traumatized by what they experienced on that school bus. This 25-year sentence against Mr. Holland ensures that he will be held accountable for his horrific actions.   

Kaeden Holland, also known as "Baby K", brutally attacked a student after storming onto a school bus with two other teens in May of 2023.

To clarify, Kaeden Holland was sentenced to 60 years, but the prosecutors agreed to allow all but 25 years to be suspended. This presumably means that assuming he survives his time behind bars, gets out, and lands himself back in hot water, he will be returning to prison to do the rest, effectively making it a life sentence. If he manages to be truly rehabilitated, gets out, finds a job, and stays on the straight and narrow, good for him. Having 35 years hanging over your head will probably be a strong motivator.

If you wish to express some sympathy for a 16-year-old being sent away to a men's prison until he's in his 40s, feel free. I'm sure he and his family aren't looking forward to it. But let's also not forget the circumstances surrounding what happened. This wasn't a case of two aspiring gangbangers meeting up on a corner in the dead of night to settle a beef between their rival tribes. This kid walked onto a school bus full of other children who were actually trying to get to class and live the normal lives of students and opened fire unannounced. That gun misfiring was either very poor maintenance or an Act of God because nobody walks away from a round from a 9mm to the head and two to the chest at point-blank range. And according to the police, the 14-year-old girl with them put him up to the shooting. That kid had already long since turned the dial on the violent crime meter up past 11.

I hope the word of this result makes it out onto the streets as widely and as loudly as possible. Baltimore has gone for too long treating violent juvenile crime as if the shooters are also the tragic victims and putting them back out on the streets over and over again. The older gangbangers recruit these kids to do their dirty work for them because they know they will have their "employees" back on the "job" in no time. I'm probably guilty of being overly optimistic at the moment, but part of me envisions a couple of 14-year-olds talking next weekend, with one of them asking, "Hey, you want to go down to the meetup and see what action they have for us?" The other one pauses and says, "Naw, man. I'm going home. You see what they did to Baby K?"

Sure, I'm probably crazy for thinking that will suddenly start happening all over the city. But it sounds like something that could happen. And if it happens to one of them it could happen to more. And if so, who knows where we could be in a few years?