BALTIMORE — A community of people are crying out for help from city leaders after a weekend of violence left them terrified once again.
Baltimore City’s police Commissioner Michael Harrison said this violence has left many communities traumatized and have unsettled even the people working hard to fight this culture of violence.
There were nine shootings over the weekend and seven people died as a result of those shootings. One of those incidents was a quadruple shooting where three people were killed now the neighbors in that area are pleading for help from city leaders.
Balloons now fly where three people lost their lives. Police said on Saturday near Liberty Heights and Gwyn Oak Avenue four people got shot. A man in his 70’s was injured and 26-year-old’s Darian Savoy, Timothy Brown and 25-year-old Jawan Hall all died following that shooting.
“There was a survivor what we know is that two of the individuals we’re inside of the vehicle when they were shot. We’re still trying to piece together how the other two were connected even if they were connected in some kind of way and how,” Harrison said.
Police said the driver of that vehicle was also one of the homicide victims, he crashed into a person’s home after being shot before he died. The president of the Howard Park neighborhood association Joyce Smith said this is what worries her about the safety of innocent bystanders in her community.
“People had to run back in the shop right last night or Saturday night away from the gunshots because they didn’t know what was going on. There’s no rhyme or reason but we want to see some action some outcry from the people who we elected and the people who are getting paid by the taxpayers,” Smith said.
And as she’s asking for help from city leaders, city leaders are asking for help from the people to change the culture of violence that’s flooding communities.
“This is a result of a culture of violence. Let’s remember these are the decisions that they made this has nothing to do with anything we did or failed to do. These are just the decisions the bad actors are making and it’s a cultural violence based on their great availability of guns, and their willingness to carry them illegally, and their willingness to use them against each other to solve their simple conflict,” Harrison said.
Commissioner Harrison said in the midst of all the shootings there were also 21 robberies last weekend across the city. Officers made 11 arrests, eight of them were for handguns and three were for robberies.
Today the department had 22 new recruits who started their first day. Harrison said this is part of the strategy to add more cops to the streets for a safer community for all.
