5 Killed, 7 Other Shootings Reported In Violent Baltimore Weekend; Guns And Drugs Tied To Crimes
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore City Police are investigating a number of homicides and shootings after another violent weekend in the city.
Five people were murdered and seven other non-fatal shootings were reported to police over the weekend. Another fatal shooting was reported in broad daylight Monday, bringing the homicide total to 325 so far this year. At the same time last year, the city had recorded 336 homicides.
Two of the homicide victims were in the city to sell a gun, Mayor Brandon Scott said during a press conference Monday.
Baltimore FOP On Violence: City Is Short 500 Officers, Blames Police Leadership
Meanwhile, two women were gunned down Sunday night at the intersection of Old Frederick Road and South Kossuth Street. Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said the victims may have known their killer.
"We heard it last night. It was so close that it sounded like it was in our yard. That's how close the shots were," one neighbor said.
Another neighbor described hearing four or five shots.
Neighbors expressed frustration with the latest wave of violence.
"People don't care. They don't care about each other no more," one person told WJZ. " (It's) close to the holiday (but) they're still doing the same thing."
Scott said police and city officials not only need to work on reducing the number of violent incidents, but also working on the factors that lead to the violence -- focusing on the people committing the violence, the violent repeat offenders, the guns coming into our city and also on the addiction and other factors driving violence in the city.
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Harrison said in some of the incidents the victims likely knew their assailants. Some of the survivors told police they came into the city to purchase drugs and the shootings were a result of a drug deal gone bad, he said.
"So we are working constantly through having smart deployment strategies, putting officers where we know they need to be based on patterns and trends of crime," Harrison said. "And we're working to identify those bad actors who are pulling the triggers and who are carrying the guns."
WATCH: Baltimore City Officials Address Violent Weekend
Anyone with information on these crimes is asked to call the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line, at 1-866-7LOCKUP. You can also anonymously text a tip by visiting the Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland website.
