Police identify squeegee worker who was shot, killed near busy NE Baltimore intersection
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore Police have identified a 19-year-old man who was gunned down while he was offering to clean the windows of passing cars last week.
Antonio Lee was one of two squeegee workers shot last Friday in the 1800 Block of 33rd Street—not far from Lake Montebello, according to police.
The shooting happened around 4:45 p.m. that day. Officers responding to a ShotSpotter alert found Lee suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
An ambulance took him to a local hospital where medical personnel pronounced him dead, according to authorities.
A short time later, another 19-year-old man arrived at a local hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, police said.
The man said he was shot in the 1800 block of 33rd Street, too, according to police.
Baltimore Police confirmed to WJZ on Tuesday that the two men were squeegee workers.
The dangers and difficulties that squeegee workers experience came to the forefront of the city's security concerns in 2022 after a confrontation between a group of squeegee workers and a driver ended in a deadly shooting.
The case went to trial in 2023, and a jury recently determined that the 16-year-old squeegee worker shot and killed Timothy Reynolds near the Inner Harbor after he confronted the squeegee workers with a bat.
Also, in 2022, a Baltimore man was arrested for allegedly coaxing squeegee workers into his truck, taking them to West Baltimore, and shooting them. Zhamiel Dixon, 26, was convinced they had stolen $2,000 from his mother by using Cash App, according to charging documents.
A 17-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man were shot in the head and neck, and a third person escaped, per court records.
The Baltimore State's Attorney's Office dropped the case against him after prosecutors were unable to locate one of the men to testify against Dixon.
Following these incidents, the city began enforcing a squeegee ban in six high-traffic areas.
The deadly shooting that killed a squeegee worker on Friday did not happen in one of those no-squeegee zones.
"They need to find jobs or something for these kids to do, or young men to do, so they aren't out here doing things that can get them into trouble," Baltimore resident James Small said.
Anyone with information about the deadly double shooting that happened in the on 33rd Street should contact homicide detectives at 410-396-2100.
Anonymous tipsters can call the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCK-UP.
