The city of Baltimore faced an uptick in crime following the Memorial Day weekend that set a record for the deadliest month the city’s faced in 15 years.
According to Mic, the city, home to 622,104 people, was the target for multiple shootings over the holiday weekend. A total of 29 people were shot and nine people were killed. One of the youngest survivors was a 9-year-old who was shot in the leg Monday night.
Another man nearby suffered a bullet graze to his head, police told the paper. Two victims in separate shootings suffered fatal gunshot wounds that pushed the number of homicides to 35 for May. A total of 108 have been killed in the city this year, The Sun reported.
WBAL-TV reports a man and woman were shot in a car around 12:30 a.m. Monday. Both were taken to the hospital where the man died. Officers responded to another report of a shooting around 1:43 a.m. Monday. A man died at the hospital. Another man was shot and killed Sunday afternoon. None of those shooting victims have been identified.
In total, 104 people have died this year, while 35 people have died this month due to gun violence in the city.
That’s five deaths a week.
“The shootings and killings are all over the city. I don’t think any part of the city is immune to this,” William “Pete” Welch, a city councilman, told The Sun. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
In a statement released on Sunday, mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she is confident that the “steps being taken by the Police Department will quell this latest uptick in violence.” She also met with the city’s police commissioner, Anthony W. Batts, to discuss the rise in crime.
Baltimore became the target of conversation in April when Freddie Grey died a week after he was placed in police custody. Since then, Baltimore City’s attorney Marilyn Mosby has announced the officers will be charged for the 25-year-old’s death.
Blame on the city’s crime spree has bounced back and forth between police officers, gangs and the city’s politicians.
SOURCE: Mic | VIDEO CREDIT: NDN
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Over 20 Shot, 9 Killed In Baltimore’s Deadliest Month Since 1999 was originally published on newsone.com
