Downtown Shooting Part Of Recent Spike Of Violence

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore officers found two people covered in blood.  The shooting happened just one block from City Hall.  Weijia Jiang reports it's part of a spike in violence downtown.

At 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Baltimore police officers were patroling the part of Baltimore Street known as "the block."

"They heard gunshots, four to five.  They ran to the unit block of Commerce Street.  That's where they found the two victims," said Anthony Guglielmi.

A female was shot in the leg and a male in the chest.  Investigators call 20-year-old twin brothers persons of interest.  Police found them and a freshly used handgun on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in what witnesses at the scene described as the getaway car.

"Sends chills up your spine but you gotta go back and forth to work," said Antonio Richardson.

Richardson echoes growing concerns over crime happening in the shadows of City Hall.  On Saturday morning, just a block away, detectives say a wild gun battle between police and convicted felon Franklin Gross unfolded.  He's charged with shooting a 24-year-old officer.

"It's outrageous when you got these villains and people want to be an OK Corral town with no human respect anymore," Richardson said.

"I'm afraid.  I close at 5:30; after that, I lock up," said Manasa's Hallmark owner Paul Kuppalli.

Kuppalli's gift shop is located between the two shooting scenes.  He's worried the violence will hurt holiday business.

"A lot of people are hesitant to come.  They're scared of people hanging around," Kuppalli said.

But police insist downtown is safe.  A spokesman says the recent shootings are rare for the area.

"I want to be clear.  This is not a gunman targeting tourists.  This is targeted.  These individuals have a history.  They have some type of issue with each other.  We're gonna be there and we're gonna keep on locking people up," Guglielmi said.

Police say both the suspects and the victims have drug histories.  They continue to investigate what sparked the shooting.

Police say the officer involved with the shooting over the weekend has been released from the hospital in good condition.