Towson toilet, investigated as possible bomb, similar to another in Baltimore
Above: This toilet plastered with pointed messages and business cards of public officials has been on North Avenue in front of city schools headquarters for weeks. (Photo by Fern Shen)
by Fern Shen and Oliver Hulland
As Baltimore County police were investigating a toilet with a cell phone strapped to it outside the Towson Courthouse as a possible bomb, a similar toilet — covered with the business cards of members of Congress and clippings about a slain teen — was sitting on the median strip in front of Baltimore City Schools headquarters on North Avenue.
It has been there for about two weeks, according to passersby and Baltimore City Paper online editor Tim Hill, who photographed the toilet for a standalone photo that can be seen on page 5 of the current edition of the weekly and online here.
“I figured it was one of those memorials to a kid who had died,” Hill said, noting that, when he shot the picture, the assemblage included a stuffed “Kenny” doll from the South Park animated television show.
The North Avenue toilet may not have had any electronics, but it clearly has some connection to the one that caused police to shut down several streets around the Old Courthouse on Monday.
((UPDATE: By the end of the day Baltimore County police were reporting that the device was harmless and that they had a suspect.))
According to Towson Patch, the Towson toilet, spotted by a maintenance worker at about 8 a.m., had a petition attached to it that referenced a case involving the son of Duane Gerald Davis “Shorty.” Patch quoted from the petition:
“‘We, the undersigned, are supporters of Duane Gerald Davis (Shorty),’ the note attached to the radio read, going on to identify Davis as a ‘well respected’ Baltimore-area resident. The note requested that state and local officials push the town of Zion, IL, to ‘conduct a complete and impartial investigation” into the 2006 death of Davis’ son, Gerrell.’”
Among the items plastered on the North Avenue toilet: an old-fashioned shoe-shine kit, business cards for several U.S. senators — Bernie Sanders, Richard Lugar and Max Baucus — as well as Maryland Maryland State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger. There was also a page with the opening lines of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” numerous certified mail notices and much more.
There was also a photo showing the name and phone number for Shorty’s Pit Beef and other products.
From toilet in Median on North Avenue, in Baltimore (Photo by Fern Shen)
According to the Chicago Tribune, Gerrell Davis, 16, was shot and killed in 2006 after he allegedly broke into the home of Saffiyya and Sharif Darr.
Davis has an active online presence, including a Facebook page and YouTube videos in which he discusses “Shorty’s toilet tour,” and says he planned on “potty training” the public officials who snubbed him by pasting his unanswered correspondence and pictures of the officials to toilets filled with feces.
Reached on the phone by The Baltimore Sun, Davis denied leaving the toilet at the courthouse.
Jake Davis, Duane’s eldest son and current owner of Shorty’s Pit Beef in Lutherville, said in a phone interview with The Brew that his father has been distraught since his brother’s death and that Duane “Shorty” Davis is also no longer affiliated with Shorty’s Pit Beef.