Suspect in 12-year-old girl’s killing was released from prison days before shooting

Tyree Reynolds, the man accused of fatally shooting 12-year-old Khloe Ishway at a homecoming youth football game in Baltimore, was released from prison just eight days earlier after being granted a sentence reduction.

Reynolds had been serving time for his role in a 2021 shootout, and the reduction in his sentence came after a senior official in the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement vouched for him.

Mayor Brandon Scott told The Banner on Thursday that the letter vouching for Reynolds had not been approved.

“They won’t be writing any more letters for anybody f---ing else,” Scott said.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, didn’t oppose the sentence reduction at the time. State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said the modification had a “limited impact” on the time Reynolds was serving.

This week, though, Bates criticized the letter supporting the sentence reduction, saying it was the kind of decision that led his office to stop partnering with the mayor’s neighborhood safety office, with which he severed ties last year.

In a statement, Bates said the decision not to oppose the sentence reduction “was made in 2025 based on the information available to us at that time.”

But he added that “the subsequent conduct of this Defendant is deeply concerning and reinforces the importance of accurate, thorough assessments when considering whether an individual has truly been rehabilitated and is ready to return to the community.”

In the prior case, Reynolds accepted a plea agreement in 2021 for first-degree assault and use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with seven years suspended.

A Baltimore judge agreed to reduce that to 15 years with 10 years suspended.

What happened at the hearing

At the sentence modification hearing on Aug. 13, 2025, Reynolds’ attorney, John Cox, described his request as “not a huge change.”

Cox presented a letter from Mark Mason, the chief of victim services at the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, in which Mason described himself as Reynolds’ mentor.

Reynolds read a letter in which he wrote that he had learned “life is not a sprint — it’s a journey.” Everybody makes mistakes, he said; the question is whether people learn from them.

He said he planned to start living his life in a positive manner to support his family.

“I don’t plan on making the same mistake that cost me my freedom, and I don’t plan on walking any path that leads me back to this point,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t see value in my life, love and freedom, which are all priceless.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Pillion said the shooting was a “very, very serious incident,” but noted that Reynolds did not open fire first.

Under the circumstances, Pillion said he did not object to the sentence reduction.

Pillion said he was moved by Mason’s letter and impressed with his lack of infractions while being incarcerated at Eastern Correctional Institution. Five years in prison, Pillion said, still fell within the sentencing guidelines.

“I truly wish him success and hope that he again surrounds himself with people who love him and appreciate him,” Pillion said.

Circuit Judge Cynthia Jones told Reynolds that it was great that he had someone who was “willing to put their credibility on the line for your future, and they did it on letterhead for a city agency.”

“There’s a lot of value out of relationships with mentors,” Jones said. “Somebody who’s willing to stick their neck out for you that’s not your blood, not your family, is important. But it’s up to you to take advantage of that relationship.”

Jones warned Reynolds of the consequences for violating the terms of his release.

“I can assure you: If you come back before me and you don’t comply with the conditions of your probation, what do you think will happen?” Jones asked.

“Back to prison,” Reynolds replied.

“For how long?”

“Fifteen years.”

“Exactly.”

Reynolds was released on Sept. 25, and Baltimore Police allege he was captured on video on Oct. 3 opening fire with a rifle at Leon Day Park. The girl, Khloe, was caught in the crossfire and later died.

Scott said earlier this week that Reynolds should not have been back on the street.

When you look at his record, “you see that this isn’t the first time we’ve arrested him for similar things only for him to be back out on the street and taking the life of a 12-year-old,” Scott told WJZ .

He added: “A 12-year-old baby should be here today not only because [Reynolds] should’ve known how to resolve his conflict in a better way, but also more importantly because he still should have been in jail.”

Role of mayor’s office

But the mayor’s office played a role in Reynolds’ release.

In Mason’s letter, dated Aug. 8, 2025, he said Reynolds was “one of the nicest most respectful young men that I have ever met.”

Mason said Reynolds had been robbed twice, which he believed prompted Reynolds to carry a gun.

“My advocacy for Tyree is so strong because I felt that I let him down,” Mason wrote. “He was never supposed to be in this current situation. He was never supposed to be involved with anything related to violence. His mindset was never anything other than making it in football and being the next Tavon Austin,” a reference to a Baltimore high school football standout who went on to play in the NFL.

“Again Judge Jones, this is all contingent on Tyree and his ability to choose to do right upon his return; however, I would not be going out on a limb writing this letter on his behalf if I felt that he is a violent offender and his plan is to come back into society to engage in more violence.”

Bates said prosecutors agreed to Reynolds’ release in part because of Mason’s “strongly supportive letter.”

Jack French, a spokesperson for MONSE, said in a statement that Mason’s letter was based on his “prior personal relationship” with Reynolds, “without the permission of MONSE’s Director or Chief of Staff.”

Reynolds, French said, “made the conscious decision to engage in violence,” and his “heinous and reckless actions, which resulted in the death of an innocent child, are the product of his own devastatingly bad decisions.”

“We will not be deterred from our mission of supporting Khloe’s family, the youth football teams present during the incident, and the broader community during this incredibly difficult time,” French said.

Reynolds, seated in a wheelchair after taking a bullet to the ankle in the shooting, appeared before a judge Wednesday for a bail review hearing in connection with Khloe’s killing . He was held without bail.

Police are still investigating the shooting, looking for the other man they believe was involved.

This story has been updated.