The Maryland State Police have taken significant steps in the investigation of the August 11 shooting that killed five‑year‑old Na’Ryah Adams in Linkwood. A 16‑year‑old from Dorchester County now faces first‑degree murder charges, while additional suspects have been arrested, charged, and are awaiting initial appearances before the Dorchester County Circuit Court.
## Recent Arrests and Charges
Maryland State Police arrested a 16‑year‑old resident of Dorchester County on first‑degree murder and related offenses. The teenager remains detained at the Dorchester County Detention Center. Authorities have not released details concerning his alleged role in the homicide.
The father of the victim, 30‑year‑old Ryan Adams, has been released from the hospital and placed in police custody. Adams, who suffered severe gunshot injuries the night his daughter was killed, now confronts 77 charges stemming from a related shooting in Hurlock that occurred the previous evening. He is being held without bond at the Dorchester County Detention Center.
A revised indictment for Lindsay Ewing removes the charge of altering physical evidence in a criminal proceeding. Instead, Ewing now faces charges of accessory after the fact to first‑degree murder and conspiracy to alter physical evidence in a criminal proceeding.
Anthony Harris Jr. faces a total of 58 charges, including multiple counts of first‑ and second‑degree assault, first‑ and second‑degree attempted murder, and other violent felonies. Harris is also being held without bond.
Adams, Ewing, and Harris are scheduled for an initial appearance on Wednesday, September 23, before the Dorchester County Circuit Court.
Law‑enforcement officials urge anyone with information to contact the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit tip line at 202‑953‑1903. The Maryland State Police and the FBI are offering a reward of up to $20,000 for tips that lead to additional arrests.
WMDT will continue to update this story as further details emerge.
## Background of the Linkwood Shooting
Three individuals have been charged in connection with the death of Na’Ryah Adams. Her father, Ryan Adams, who sustained critical injuries during the same incident, also faces charges for a shooting that occurred the night before.
On August 11, Maryland State Police responded to a residence on the 3900 block of Ocean Gateway at approximately 2:15 a.m. Officers discovered two victims with gunshot wounds: Na’Ryah Adams and her father, Ryan Adams. Na’Ryah was pronounced dead at the scene, while Ryan Adams was airlifted to a local trauma center for treatment of multiple gunshot injuries.
Court records obtained by WMDT reveal new details about the case, including the arrests of Adams and three additional suspects, and establish a connection between the Linkwood homicide and a separate act of violence in Dorchester County the night prior.
## Related Shooting in Hurlock
Court documents show that on August 10 at 10:53 p.m., a 14‑year‑old male was shot in the back on Gold Rush Lane in Hurlock and transported to Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital in serious condition. A witness described a light‑skinned Black man in dark clothing entering the front yard of 110 Gold Rush Lane and firing at a group of juveniles before fleeing in the passenger seat of a black SUV toward Ruby Circle.
The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit assumed the investigation, interviewing the 14‑year‑old victim, who identified his shooter as a 15‑year‑old from Linkwood. Another witness indicated that the shooting was part of a longstanding feud between the shooter’s family and local juveniles. The witness reported that the alleged shooter contacted his uncle, identified as Ryan Adams, after becoming angry when rival teens claimed to be armed.
Investigators subsequently linked the Hurlock and Linkwood shootings as acts of retaliation.
## Ryan Adams
Investigation findings indicate that the 15‑year‑old implicated in the Gold Rush Lane shooting was Adams’ nephew. After the nephew called Adams on August 10, court documents show that Adams traveled to the Hurlock residence and opened fire on the group of juveniles at 108 Gold Rush Lane.
Hours later, Adams suffered gunshot wounds in retaliation and was transported to a shock trauma unit. While troopers responded to the Linkwood shooting, Adams’s grandmother confirmed that he had gone to Hurlock the night before to retrieve his 15‑year‑old nephew, using a black Ford Explorer parked on the property.
The 15‑year‑old has been charged with attempted first‑degree murder and related offenses and is detained at the Lower Eastern Shore Children’s Center.
Ryan Adams now faces charges of attempted first‑ and second‑degree murder, first‑ and second‑degree assault, reckless endangerment, and firearm use during the commission of a violent felony. He remains hospitalized for treatment of his injuries.
## Anthony Harris Jr.
Investigators learned from a confidential source that the uncles of the 14‑year‑old Hurlock victim were responsible for the Linkwood shooting, including 26‑year‑old Anthony Harris Jr. of Hurlock. Surveillance video from the nearby Linkwood Market captured a dark‑colored Jeep Cherokee traveling in the area at 2:07 a.m. on August 11. The vehicle turned its headlights off, pulled onto the shoulder in front of the Adams residence, and two minutes later re‑illuminated before departing.
Dash‑cam footage from a Sysco truck corroborated the Jeep’s movements. Hurlock Police Officer Brandon Lee observed Harris in the same Jeep 40 minutes after the Linkwood shooting while traveling on Gold Rush Lane near Douglas Street. Officer Lee recognized Harris and identified the house Harris was returning to as his grandmother’s residence. Additional surveillance from a neighboring home showed Harris leaving the Douglas Street residence in the same vehicle at 2:42 a.m. Cell‑phone mapping placed Harris in Salisbury less than an hour later.
The Jeep’s registration belongs to 26‑year‑old Meijah Hill, Harris’s girlfriend and the mother of his child. Law‑enforcement databases revealed that Harris serviced Hill’s Cherokee at a Valvoline in Seaford just hours before the Linkwood homicide.
On August 25, Harris was arrested and charged with first‑ and second‑degree murder, attempted first‑ and second‑degree murder, two counts each of first‑ and second‑degree assault, firearm use during the commission of a violent felony, and altering physical evidence. He is being held without bond.
## Wendell Allen Wongus III
Police arrested a second suspect in connection with the shootings of Ryan Adams and Na’Ryah Adams. On August 27, officers detained 23‑year‑old Wendell Allen Wongus on the same charges as Harris. Wongus is also being held without bond.
Court documents indicate that Wongus was present in the Linkwood residence at the time of the shooting. His criminal history includes convictions for fraud, disorderly conduct, possession of a firearm as a minor, carrying a loaded handgun, and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.
## Lindsay Ewing
On August 14, prior to Harris’s arrest, law‑enforcement executed a search and seizure warrant at Harris’s Hurlock residence. Analysis of his cell‑phone messages revealed discussions of the shootings and mention of a firearm matching the caliber of casings recovered from the crime scene.
Further examination uncovered an extensive conversation with 43‑year‑old Lindsay Ewing of Cambridge, a former analyst at the Dorchester County Office of the State’s Attorney. The texts detailed the Hurlock and Linkwood shootings, Harris’s risk of apprehension, and strategies for tampering with and destroying evidence. Although many messages were deleted before the electronic devices were seized, forensic software recovered them.
Investigators allege that Ewing leveraged non‑public resources obtained during her tenure at the State’s Attorney’s office to assist Harris in evading detection. The recovered communications also revealed an intimate affair between Ewing and Harris.
On August 25, Ewing was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to first‑degree murder, altering physical evidence in a criminal proceeding, and conspiracy to alter physical evidence in a criminal proceeding. She is being held without bond. Because of her prior employment with the Dorchester County State’s Attorney, Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Dykes’ office will prosecute her case.
“Violent crime in Dorchester County affects the entire Lower Eastern Shore and, most importantly, can tragically alter the lives of victims, families, and communities for generations,” said State’s Attorney Dykes. “My office will pursue these cases lawfully, ethically, and with the seriousness they deserve.”
## Public Assistance and Reward
Authorities continue to solicit information from the public. Individuals with relevant knowledge should contact the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit tip line at 202‑953‑1903. A reward of up to $25,000 is available for information leading to additional arrests. Callers may remain anonymous.
## Conclusion
The investigation into the fatal shooting of Na’Ryah Adams has expanded to encompass a network of individuals linked by a series of retaliatory gun crimes in Dorchester County. Through coordinated arrests, extensive forensic analysis, and collaboration between state and federal agencies, law‑enforcement has charged a teenager, the victim’s father, and multiple accomplices with a range of serious offenses. Ongoing court proceedings and further investigations aim to bring full accountability for the violent chain of events that devastated the Linkwood community.