East Baltimore neighborhood latest to report no homicides for one year

Another Baltimore neighborhood has hit a big milestone, reporting a full year without a homicide.

East Baltimore's McElderry Park is where the city's Safe Streets program began back in 2007. Leaders from the neighborhood's Safe Street site and the city applauded the work being done on Monday.

Everyone made it clear, though, that Monday's gathering wasn't a celebration. It's just a notch in making something like a homicide-free year the norm in Baltimore.

A moment for McElderry Park

Kennard Miles has lived in McElderry Park his entire life, so he's seen it through all its phases.

"We've seen it go from good, to bad, to ugly. Now it's on the trajectory back to good," he said. "We want it to look like how it looked when we were younger."

Miles wants to make McElderry Park a neighborhood to be proud of, and that's why he joined Safe Streets when the initiative began in the city. 

While he's seen a year without homicides previously in the community, it's extra special to report it under his tenure as the Safe Streets site director in the neighborhood.

This year, McElderry Park achieved this milestone on June 19, so it's actually been 403 days without a homicide in the neighborhood.

"We could work at Amazon, we could work at Kohl's, but we wanna work here," Miles said. "We choose to come here every day because production is good, but helping people is better."

There have been 57 homicides reported in Baltimore in 2026, which is the fewest number on record for this point in the year.

DeAshia Gibbs, who has been a violence prevention coordinator for Safe Streets in McElderry Park for two years, said the progress underscores hidden numbers, like the number of people who survive because the violence was prevented.

"I'm excited for the kids who can grow up here and say that they experienced a whole year and some change without having to mourn the loss of one of their friends, their parents, or any of their neighbors," Gibbs said.

While homicides and nonfatal shootings have seen a decline for some time, nonfatal shootings are now slightly up. As of Monday, there have been 185 reported, while at this point last year there were 183 reported.

The proof is in the pudding

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott reiterated that this progress is possible when you invest in community and data-driven strategies.

"It is why we as a city have to continue to support and invest in our community violence intervention ecosystem," Scott said.

So far this year, MONSE reports Safe Streets has conducted nearly 800 mediations citywide. For all of 2025, Safe Streets conducted more than 1,700.

Also, in the last five years, nine of the city's 10 Safe Street sites have reported having no homicides for a full year at least once.

Scott, as well as Miles, say it shows it's possible to create a Baltimore where these kind of crime reductions are just the norm.

"We know we need another 365 days, and 365 days after that. One homicide is too many, one life is one too many," Miles said.

The Group Violence Reduction Strategy, or GVRS, is another key part of the city's approach in curbing violence. While it just recently expanded into the Northern Policing District, it's still not in three other policing districts.

When asked about a possible timeline to expand, Scott said it will expand to those areas when it makes sense.