A string of words that has been said too often in Baltimore recently - another violent week or weekend.
While the city is on pace to have fewer murders than 2017, it is hard to ignore the violence that is beating down Baltimore. Since Monday there have been 18 shootings, five of them fatal, as well as a deadly beating and a fatal stabbing.
That is seven lives lost in just a week, and 177 people killed in the city since the start of 2018.
This deadly week follows a cry from community members to stop killing each other. City residents got together for the fifth ceasefire in a year, but the weekend ended with four shot, one of those people dying.
RELATED: A year of ceasefires, yet Baltimore still plagued with crime
Police and city officials say while these number may seem like a lot, but homicides are down 17 percent compared to last year, and shootings are down 11 percent.
One must also keep in mind that 2017 was a record year for crime in Baltimore, with 343 homicides, a new record of killings per capita.
Many ideas have been pitched to help fight Baltimore crime, yet crime still persists. Below is WMAR-2 News' coverage on preventive programs in the city.
Roca is Baltimore's newest hope to reduce crime among children, young adults
