Families of 2 killed in 2023 Baltimore mass shooting suing city's housing authority
The families of the two people killed during the mass shooting at a block party in South Baltimore three years ago are suing the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.
Baltimore's largest mass shooting on July 2, 2023, left 28 people injured and two people dead as the Brooklyn Homes community celebrated its annual Brooklyn Day Block Party.
Aaliyah Gonzalez, 19, and Kylis Fagbemi, 20, were killed after shots were fired shortly after midnight.
Their families say the housing authority was negligent because it failed to provide proper security that could have prevented the shooting.
The housing authority said it can't comment on the lawsuit since it has not been served yet.
Four other people who were injured in the shooting have also filed lawsuits.
Five people have been charged in connection with the shooting, but no one has been charged with the murders of Gonzalez and Fagbemi.
Extensive report highlighted police response failures
A 173-page report highlighted some of the failures in the Baltimore Police Department's response.
The review showed the police department's failures to properly respond to the large and unpermitted event.
Three days earlier, police found a flyer that promoted the Brooklyn Day block party, but they did not act on the notice. Police also saw organizers setting up and did not provide extra patrols, as the event grew to near 1,000.
The report revealed that two CitiWatch camera operators never notified supervisors of the growing party. Police said shifts were fully staffed, but supervisors didn't inspect the area.
The report noted that command failed to call in officers from other parts of Baltimore.
The report claimed that because of turnover in leadership, successful past plans to handle Brooklyn Day were never passed along, and staffing shortages led to officers not engaging with the community and learning more about the event.
The report also detailed the response of the housing authority, which said no calls were made to its emergency after-hours hotline during the event.
