OCEAN CITY — More details emerged late Wednesday afternoon in the OCPD’s investigation into an assault in the north end of the resort that is now classified as a homicide after the victim, a 31-year-old Lutherville, Md. man, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday.
Around 2:30 a.m. last Sunday, Ocean City Police and EMS responded to the area of 136th Street and Coastal Highway for a reported assault. Ocean City EMS transported the victim, later identified as Ryan M. Shupert, 31, of Lutherville, to PRMC in Salisbury where is he was admitted in serious condition with life-threatening injuries. Shupert succumbed to his injuries from the incident on Tuesday. The victim’s body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner who has ruled the death a homicide.
Detective with the Ocean City Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division’s Major Crimes Unit believe the victim and two friends were in a verbal argument with four male suspects on a municipal bus prior to the altercation at 136th Street. A reliable source said the victim and his friends were on a northbound bus got off in the area of 130th Street, while the four suspects were on the same bus and got off in the 140s somewhere. The source said the victim’s group began walking north, while the suspects’ group began walking south and the two groups converged again in the area of 136th Street.
According to another source, the assault was not a major fight between the two groups but rather a single punch that broke the victim’s jaw. The victim suffered the serious injuries that ultimately claimed his life in the fall following that punch, according to the source.
OCPD Detectives are currently looking for four male suspects and are asking anyone with information to come forward. Each of the four suspects is believed to be from the Baltimore area. One suspect is described as a white male in his 20s, approximately 5’8” to 5’10” with short, light-colored hair and visible tattoos on both arms and neck. That suspect was wearing a white T-shirt at the time of the attack.
A second suspect is described as a white male in his 20s with a darker complexion, about 6’ tall and weighing around 200 pounds with curly hair parted to the side and wearing glasses. The other two suspects are described only as white males in their 20s.
“We are confident that someone has valuable information about this incident and knows the suspects that were involved,” said OCPD Chief Ross Buzzuro on Wednesday. “We urge anyone that may have information to contact us, particularly those that may have been on a municipal bus between the hours of 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. in the areas of 70th Street to 130th Streets on Sunday, May 29.”
Detectives are actively reviewing surveillance video, witness statements and forensic evidence and each lead is being investigated extensively. Anyone with information is urged to contact the OCPD at 410-723-6602 or visit oceancitymd.gov/police to submit a tip. Tips may be submitted anonymously.
