BALTIMORE, MD – Unchecked violence is rampant in Baltimore as each day, new murders and shootings are reported in bulk by the Baltimore Police Department.
See a detail list of murders in Baltimore in 2021.
Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott finally addressed the gang violence that has taken over his city since his swearing-in back in January.
Violent crime and murder rampant in Baltimore
“Violent crime is our biggest challenge, and reducing it remains my top priority. I will continue to work with BPD and our community partners to combat the unacceptable violence that we endured today,” Scott said as he deals with an unprecedented number of shootings and murders in the city.
On Friday, three people were shot in killed in separate incidents. Police Commissioner Michael Harrison doesn’t believe the incidents are related.
“Today, I visited several of these homicide scenes and at this time, we do not believe any of these incidents are related. Our Department is working aggressively with smart deployments to prevent this level of violence and apprehend those responsible for these incidents,” commissioner Harrison said.
Three murders in a two hour period
It all started in the afternoon.
At 12:38 p.m., officers responded to a call for discharging in the area of E. Monument Street at Montford Avenue.Upon arrival, officers canvassed the area and located an unidentified adult female, inside a car, in the 800 block of N. Bradford Avenue.Medics responded and pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.
Then, 2:44 p.m., officers responded to the 1800 block of Moreland Avenue for a shot spotter alert. Upon arrival, officers located a 31 year-old male who was suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to Shock Trauma where he was pronounced deceased a short time later.
Before police can get to the scene of the second shooting, a third was reported.
Mayor Scott’s call for defunding the Baltimore Police Department
Mayor Scott’s position on the Baltimore Police Department was quite clear when he was running for office. He not only supported defunding the police, but demanded it last year.
I was clear with the BPD, that we know that we have to reduce the city’s dependence on BPD and re-imagine our budget. We should reduce the policing budget, reinvest in other areas and re-imagine what public safety is.
And remember, for years we’ve talked ad nauseam about violence as a public health issue.
We have to understand we’re still a city that has a lot of violence and, while we’re reforming our police department under a federal consent decree, we have to honor that. But we have to responsibly and systematically switch the way our city operates because we can’t continue with the model we have because what we have is not working. We’ve had this problem for every year of my life.
-Baltimore Mayor Brandon Walker Source: The Baltimore Sun