Co-workers mourn "innocent bystander" Baltimore DPW worker killed in gas station crossfire
Ten days after a mass shooting in West Baltimore, colleagues are searching for answers and remembering a Baltimore City worker killed in the crossfire.
Layla Bailey, 34, died after violence erupted at a BP gas station on Edmondson Avenue on Oct. 18.
Police have yet to make any arrests and said they had no updates to share as of Wednesday afternoon.
How the violence unfolded
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said a staggering 46 rounds were fired at the gas station in the 2800 block of Edmondson Avenue near North Franklintown Road just before 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 18.
Five people were injured and two people died, including 20-year-old DaShawn McCoy and Bailey.
Clarence Thomas, the vice president of Bailey's union, AFSCME Local 44, said Bailey worked for the city for more than four years in the water division of the Department of Public Works.
"It's devastating. Most of her yard has been torn apart. We're distraught about it," Thomas said. "We just want the city to embrace and come around. The family definitely needs all the support that they can get, and I know my guys are going to step up and make sure that her son has a good Christmas, so we're going to adopt him for Christmas."
Thomas stressed Bailey was an innocent bystander.
"She was minding her business," Thomas said. "She had just worked that day. It was her time off. She decided to run to the store to get a few things to go back in the house to get ready for work the next day, and unfortunately, that was the last time for her. She was a victim of a crime. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Bailey's wife wrote in an online fundraiser, "Layla was such an innocent soul. She loved and cared for everyone who loved her, and she was a very hardworking woman. She had overcome so many challenges in life. She was becoming better, and her loss has affected me deeply in ways that are hard to put into words."
Commissioner Worley said there were as many as three gunmen who used high-powered weapons.
So far, authorities are not releasing a motive and have no one in custody.
"That's when you start to get innocent victims because rounds are just being fired indiscriminately at groups. Sometimes they don't even know who's in the group," Worley told reporters at City Hall the day after the shooting.
Where city homicide, shooting numbers stand
Bailey is one of 102 homicide victims in Baltimore City this year as of Wednesday morning, compared to 108 at this time last year. That is down 6%.
Non-fatal shootings in Baltimore are up 2% over this time last year.
There have been 259 people who were shot and survived in 2026 compared to 254 in 2025.
"Everybody's life is valuable. You may have disagreement, but you don't have to turn to guns or violence. Put the guns down," Thomas said. "Layla passed away caught in the crossfire. When is it going to end?"
Thomas said Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen, Mayor Brandon Scott, and the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), have all been supportive of Bailey's family and co-workers.
Anyone with tips in the case is urged to call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-Lockup.
