Man charged in fatal shooting of gay Baltimore photographer

Gay photographer Alex Ulrich was allegedly shot to death by Quinton Bass during a robbery (Photo courtesy of Baltimore Police Department)

Baltimore police have arrested a North Carolina man in connection with a double shooting last month in Mount Vernon that left a gay aspiring photographer dead.

Anthony Guglielmi of the Baltimore Police Department told the Washington Blade that Quinton Bass, 25, of Raleigh, N.C., was arrested on gun charges on Aug. 31. He said officers who had been dispatched to patrol the neighborhood in the weeks after the Aug. 10 shooting that left Alexander “Alex” Ulrich, Jr., dead and community activist Lawrence R. Peterson critically injured took Bass, who has a previous criminal record, into custody after they found him and four others drinking alcohol in East Mount Vernon Park.

“Patrol officers gave that information to the homicide detective based on what was captured during an interview that corroborated what Homicide had,” said Guglielmi.

Bass allegedly shot Ulrich and Peterson during what Guglielmi described as a robbery as they stood on the front steps of a building near the Belvedere Hotel on East Chase Street. Guglielmi told the Blade in the days after the crime that it appeared Ulrich’s sexual orientation did not play a role in the crime.

He noted a third unidentified person was also robbed during the incident.

“As the community and our circle of friends breathes a sigh of relief upon the arrest of Alex’s murderer, I think it’s important to look at Bass’ prior criminal history and his status as a homeless person to see that the current system we have in no way deterred nor prevented Alex’s loss,” Ulrich’s friend, Ian Finkenbinder, told the Blade upon learning of Bass’ arrest. “Instead, the culture of criminality, violence and death propagated by the criminal justice system and endemic homelessness has resulted in the loss of our friend and the further destruction of Bass’ life due to the poor choices he made from the options he had. We need to find real solutions to these problems or Alex’s death, sadly, will not be the last.”

Bass remains held on $175,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 2.