Police Searching For Shooting Suspect Who 'Targeted' Cookout Crowd In West Baltimore, Killing 1
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The search is on for the shooter who police say fired at random Into a crowd of people at a cookout in West Baltimore Sunday evening, killing one man and injuring at least six others.
Police said they need people to start talking. They believe the shooter was targeting someone in the cookout crowd and that someone knows who the suspect is and why they shot into the crowd.
7 People Shot, 1 Killed At Cookout In West Baltimore
Police tape surrounds abandoned tables of food. Nearby, 42 evidence markers on the corner of Edmonson and Whitmore avenues.
This is where Baltimore city police commissioner Michael Harrison said someone opened fire on two cookouts across the street.
"It was horrible. To me it was a massacre because I seen all my friends on the ground," said Homre Scott, a witness.
Scott survived the gunfire and chaos near Edmondson and Whitmore Avenue, witnessing his friends fall with gunshot wounds.
One of them, he said, was shot while shielding his daughter.
"Why would you do something like that? Why wouldn't you think before you shot? You know, there's women and children running around here. Why would you do something like that?" Scott said.
Detectives said the shooting happened just after 5 p.m.
The victims, both men and women between the ages of 27 and 58, were rushed to nearby hospitals.
They're expected to survive.
But another 28-year-old man was fatally shot and found a block away behind the Perkins Square Baptist Church.
Police said after the shooting the suspect ran away.
They're looking for the suspect but said there may have been a second shooter returning fire.
"I believe everyone standing with me would believe that person was targeting one, if not more, people in that crowd," said BPD Commissioner Michael Harrison.
The other survivors were simply caught in the crossfire.
Acting Mayor Jack Young is asking the public to come forward and help officers track down the suspect.
"Someone knows something," He said.
Police said another person showed up the hospital with a gunshot wound around the time of the shooting. They are still trying to determine if that victim is tied to this shooting as well.