BALTIMORE — "I remember having good times in this community," said Dwayne Cameron.
He has lived in the Douglass Homes community in East Baltimore for over 50 years. It's a neighborhood in the shadow of Johns Hopkins, no stranger to crime.
"When I was growing up as a kid, the kids got out there and played stick ball a little hopscotch or whatever," said Cameron. "Now it's changed as far as these young guys out here got caught in the gun violence and got caught up in these gangs... and it tears me apart ... this crime it needs to stop but it's not going to stop."
Overnight, across the street, a suspect died after a shoot out with police left an officer wounded.
"For them to be just shooting like that, that was crazy," said Robin, who works nearby. "He had a death wish. You're riding around shooting at the police. What you think gonna happen?"
She said when she was growing up, everyone looked out for each other, but not anymore.
"You always gotta look over your shoulder, look around, but for the most part I feel safe. I mean things happen everywhere. Everybody talks about moving out of Baltimore. There's crime everywhere," said Robin.
But when it happens so close to home, people in the community are reminded that the present looks much different than the past. Than how they grew up. Frustration comes out because they know what needs to change.
"The community need the rec centers. They need something for these kids. They have no where to go," said Chris, who lives there with his family. We gotta get our school system up to date. We gotta do a lot of things. Until all that get done, this is what you're gonna get."
He would also like to see more officer out walking the beat and interacting with the community.
"Police got to do their job. They don't walk. They don't do nothing. All they do is drive," said Chris.
