'It didn't have to happen': Mother of teen killed in Brooklyn mass shooting demands accountability
BALTIMORE -- The mother of Brooklyn Homes mass shooting victim Aaliyah Gonzalez wept before a city council oversight hearing Wednesday, leading many people in the chamber to tears as she described the pain of losing her daughter.
She told council members she would never be able to hug her 18-year-old daughter, Aaliyah, again and recounted the horror of seeing her body on Gretna Court, playing audio of the moment that changed her life forever.
"This did not have to happen," Krystal Gonzalez said. "It didn't have to happen if there were more than two or three patrol cars out there."
She demanded accountability from city leaders for the violence that left 28 injured and killed two people: her daughter and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi.
"Knowing that there were calls—endless calls—for help and no one showed up," Gonzalez said. "Knowing that Foxtrot—I now know the name of the helicopter—was hundreds of feet in the air and will tell you as they look down… that everything looks normal, what is your normal? I challenge you: What is your normal? Let them take each other out? Is that your normal?"
Her emotional words came just hours after police arrested another teenager in connection to the July 2 Brooklyn Day mass shooting—the largest in Baltimore's history.
The suspect is a 15-year-old boy. Police are not naming him because of his age.
He is the fifth person in custody. Police said he had been arrested two weeks ago for a handgun violation. He faces 44 counts.
No one has been arrested for the murder of Fagbemi or Gonzalez.
Other suspects charged in the case include a 17-year-old captured on video with what authorities say is an assault weapon. His attorney claims it was a toy gun.
A 14-year-old alleged shooter was arrested last month at Patterson High School.
Police have also charged two 18-year-old men. One of them, Tristan Jackson, was already on home monitoring for bringing a gun into Mervo High School earlier this year.
There remains an $88,000 reward for information leading to arrests for murder.
Police have admitted failures in intelligence and action: They did not properly respond to the Brooklyn Day party and ignored signs it was turning out of control.
"We know we made some mistakes, and we know we could've done much better that day and that night. All throughout the day, we had a chance to react," Acting Baltimore police commissioner Richard Worley said.
One resident's emergency complaint that "hundreds…are armed with guns and knives" received this response from an officer: "We might have to redirect that call to the National Guard then."
Less than 20 minutes before the shooting, command sent the message, "Monitor only. Don't get drawn in and become a target."
Police said on Wednesday that the National Guard comment was inappropriate, and that action would be taken.
