2 killed in Baltimore during 3-day "cease-fire"
BALTIMORE -- Two people were shot and killed in Baltimore during a three-day "cease-fire" that was called for by residents and supported by the city's mayor, CBS Baltimore reports.
Police responded to calls just after 5 p.m. on Saturday in southwest Baltimore. A 24-year-old man was shot and rushed to a nearby hospital, police said. The victim was pronounced dead by medical personnel shortly after he arrived.
Police then responded to calls at another location in southeast Baltimore where they found a 37-year-old man who was suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local hospital, where he later died.
No suspects were arrested in the shootings, which dealt a devastating blow to an effort to keep the city free of homicides for 72 hours.
It's unclear if there will be an attempt to hold another "cease-fire."
Residents in the community had been pleading for a 72-hour period without killings, after the homicide rate surpassed 200 victims.
"We knew murder could happen because it's not a problem that we could just fix by ourselves," said community activist Erricka Bridgeford.
A group marched through streets where people were murdered in response to the grim milestone.
"We're keeping their memory alive by coming to the spots in which they were either found or died," said Scott Slater, an activist with Marching For Peace.
Desiree Marcano, an activist whose fiancé was murdered in the city, said, "We'll never have a strong community if we're killing ourselves."
The Guardian Angels, a local nonprofit organization, joined the call for peace over the weekend by covering a church wall with the names of those murdered this year.
"You don't have enough politicians, police, guardian angels or Baltimore city ceasefire activists that are going to stop the violence. The citizens of Baltimore have to say: we've had enough," said Marcus Dent, the group's director.
Members of the nonprofit said it was important for them to share the names of victims so that the public knows they are not just numbers -- they are real people.
