BALTIMORE (OSV News) -- Baltimore City police confirmed that after more than a year they have made an arrest in an assault of two elderly Catholic pro-life activists outside a downtown Planned Parenthood center.
In a July 31 email, Detective Freddie Talbert of the Baltimore Police Department public affairs told Catholic Review, the news outlet for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, that city police arrested Patrick Brice, 27, on July 1 for the assault of two men in the 300 block of North Howard Street May 26, 2023. An arrest warrant originally was issued June 5, 2024, for Brice.
Brice, who is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Aug. 1, has been charged with first-degree felony assault, two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of assault on elderly 65 and older. He is listed as 6-foot-5, 200 pounds and a Baltimore City resident in court records.
After his arrest, Brice was released without bail on his own recognizance July 2. He is being represented by a Baltimore City public defender.
The men, then 84-year-old Dick Schafer and 73-year-old Mark Crosby, were attacked outside the Planned Parenthood center on North Howard Street. The Planned Parenthood building shares a wall with Options@328, a pro-life pregnancy resource center operated by the Center for Pregnancy Concerns and supported by the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Pro-life advocates pray regularly on the sidewalk in front of the centers and distribute small bags that contain information on pregnancy resources, details about the unborn and snacks.
Schafer, one of the men assaulted on North Howard Street, said he and Crosby returned to their post outside the abortion center less than a week after the incident that sent Crosby to R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma at University of Maryland Medical Center with severe head injuries.
Crosby said they planned to be back out there as usual this week. He declined to comment further about the arrest.
Crosby and Schafer are both being represented in legal proceedings by the American Center for Law and Justice.
Olivia Summers, senior litigation counsel with the ACLJ, said she was pleased with the arrest and the BPD's "diligence" in apprehending a suspect.
"We were very pleased that they stuck with it and showed their dedication," Summer said. "We are looking forward to seeing what additional charges might be brought against the suspect and looking into any civil charges that can be brought."
The men are both parishioners of Christ the King Catholic Church in Towson, Maryland. The parish is part of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, a Roman Catholic diocese with Anglican traditions for the U.S. and Canada established by Pope Benedict XVI.
Preceding the attack, the suspect and one of the victims had a conversation concerning "pro-life" and "pro-choice" viewpoints, according to the original police report in 2023.
According to the reporting officer, several witnesses said two men were assaulted, one severely. One victim was struck in the face and the other initially was tackled over a flowerpot.
Video footage showed the suspect shoving one of the men to the ground with both hands, punching him and then kicking him "with extreme force" directly in the face.
The suspect then walked away toward West Mulberry Street.
Personnel from the Center for Pregnancy Center provided first aid to the two victims and the more seriously injured victim was transported to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma at University of Maryland Medical Center. According to the police report, the victim taken to the medical center was "diagnosed with a large hematoma, hyphema, and head and neck pain."
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