11-year-old boy and man shot at Baltimore playground, police commissioner calls suspects "cowards"

Baltimore police are looking for two men after an 11-year-old boy and an adult were shot at a playground  in the city's Upton neighborhood Wednesday evening.

Officers were called to Pennsylvania Avenue and Dolphin Street around 7:40 p.m. for reports of a shooting. They found the boy and a 26-year-old man with gunshot wounds. Both were rushed to the hospital. Police said they child is in serious but stable condition and the man is stable.

Investigators don't believe the child and the man are related.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the preliminary investigation indicates that two people drove up across the street from the playground and fired shots. One of them used a rifle, police said.

"What we have here is another case of weak men who cannot resolve their petty conflict without gunfire," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told reporters at a news conference. "Now, we have two people shot, including an 11-year-old child, who has absolutely nothing to do with whatever you are beefing about."

Worley said investigators believe the 26-year-old man was the intended target and the 11-year-old was just a bystander. The commissioner said there were other children on the playground at the time of the shooting.

"You've got two cowards pull up in a vehicle, they want to shoot somebody for some reason, and they shoot indiscriminately, with a rifle, toward a playground where other kids were playing," Worley said. "We were lucky that only one child was hurt."

Police said they are still searching for the two men. They have not described the car they were in. Worley said it's possible that the suspects are still nearby.

"To the citizens in the area, I almost guarantee you that these two individuals live right here, and you probably know who they are," Worley said. "Tell us who they are, don't hide them, and have the cowards turn themselves in."

Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting call 911 or the anonymous tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

"11-year-old children playing on playgrounds should not have to duck bullets just because men can't resolve their own conflicts," Mayor Scott added. "We will be looking and hunting for these individuals until we bring them to justice."