ESSEX, Md. — A woman was shot and killed on Woodrow Avenue in Essex overnight Sunday, marking the fourth homicide victim in the area this month.
Lanier Harmon, 39, died at the scene on the 800 block of Woodrow Avenue just before 2 a.m. Sunday; Woodrow Avenue is a residential street just off Marlyn Avenue with about 20 homes and a bar and grill on the water at the end of the block.
Jennifer Underwood, who lives near the scene, said she was at work when the shooting happened.
"This used to be a nice area, and the last couple of years it's not somewhere that, you know, I want to live anymore," Underwood said.
Underwood said the rising violence has left her feeling unsafe in her own neighborhood. She said the danger feels personal, especially when she is coming home alone.
"It's very scary, as a woman, coming home late at night from work or coming home from hanging out with friends; it's nerve-wracking. Is someone gonna come up to my car at night?" Underwood said.
One neighbor, who chose not to go on camera, said he was shaken up to the point of seeing a psychiatrist. He said he was watching a movie when he heard commotion and screaming outside.
Not all residents share the same level of alarm; Donnie Rosenberry said he still feels at home in the area.
"Ticked up a little bit, but I don't let it bother me. I keep doing my same old thing." Rosenberry told WMAR-2 News.
Sunday's killing comes just two weeks after three people were shot dead in Essex on Aug. 10. Two 19-year-old victims were shot and killed in a car on Banyan Wood Court. That same day, a 17-year-old boy was shot dead nearby. Police made three arrests in connection with those shootings.
READ MORE: Charging Docs: 22-year-old suspect in Essex double homicide surrenders to police with father
Anyone with information about Sunday's shooting on Woodrow Avenue is asked to contact police.
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