Shots Fly At Block Party

At least two assailants fired indiscriminately into a crowd attending a block party thrown in honor of a fallen gang member, sending a dozen people to hospitals, police said.

Six victims were taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where a hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday morning that one was in critical condition and five were in fair condition.

The other six victims were transported to The Johns Hopkins Hospital, where a spokeswoman said Tuesday morning that one was in critical condition, three were in fair or good condition and two were released.

A 14-year-old boy was the youngest victim of the Monday evening attack, which city police called the largest shooting anyone could remember in years.

Police did not identify any suspects, but Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris said at least two gunmen were involved and someone else may have been driving the car they arrived in.

The party was organized by family and friends of 22-year-old Keith "Bone" Hamlet, who was fatally shot in November at his home in the same block as the party.

Up to 200 people attended the party and police had visited the scene an hour before the shooting in an attempt to disperse the crowd, Norris said.

"This is hard, this is genocide," Robert Silver, 37, told The (Baltimore) Sun as he stood near the scene. "The crime rate needs to go down."

By Marty Niland
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