Road rage fueled killing of Towson University student, police say

A Baltimore man fatally shot a Towson University student earlier this month near a busy traffic circle on York Road in what appeared to be a road rage incident, according to Baltimore County Police.

Detectives took Reginald Gray Jr. into custody Monday on charges of first-degree murder and related offenses in the killing of Nasir Majied, 22, of Edison, New Jersey.

On Tuesday, Gray, 33, waived his appearance at his bail review hearing before Baltimore County District Judge Michael Siri, who ordered him to continue to be held without bond. The Maryland Office of the Public Defender represented Gray in court but did not immediately comment on the case.

Police offered the following account of what happened:

On June 5, Majied was driving north on York Road in a Kia Forte when Gray ran a red light at Chesapeake Avenue in his Nissan Altima and cut Majied off.

At the next intersection, Majied pulled up next to Gray and then cut in front of him.

As the cars approached the traffic circle, Majied merged back into the right lane. That’s when Gray opened fire, police said.

When officers responded to the scene at York Road and East Joppa Road, they found Majied suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to Greater Baltimore Medical Center and later pronounced dead.

As part of their investigation, detectives discovered that the Nissan received a parking ticket earlier that morning a few blocks away and that Gray was the registered owner.

Investigators then obtained Gray’s driver’s license photo and compared it to surveillance video near the scene. Cellphone records also placed Gray in the area, police said.

In a post on X, Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier applauded the “round-the-clock work” of police to “bring this perpetrator to justice.”

Towson University President Mark Ginsberg previously called the killing a “devastating loss” and asked students, faculty, staff, neighbors and alumni to keep Majied’s family and friends in their thoughts.

Majied loved playing basketball and Nintendo Wii. Friends described him as soft-spoken, gentle and easygoing.