Baltimore City Public Schools remembers 19 students killed by gun violence within past year
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore City Public Schools honored students killed by gun violence within the past year.
Since May 19, 2022, 19 city students were killed in shootings.
For the past six years, since 2018, the school district has held a ceremony of peace and remembrance for those victims.
The youngest student remembered was 8 years old.
Dylan King was shot and killed in January. His brother was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and assault.
While Thursday was about remembering the 19 students murdered, one of the grieving mothers told WJZ this event was scheduled at the last minute, and some families were unaware of the ceremony.
Dr. Sonya Santelises, the district CEO, read the names of the 19 Baltimore students killed in the past 12 months.
A bell was rung following every name that was read.
"We are better than this," Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby said. "Our children deserve better than this. Their parents deserve better than this. Their classmates, family, friends and loved ones deserved better than this. The City of Baltimore deserves better than this."
Deanta Dorsey, a 16-year-old student at Edmondson West High School, was killed in January in a shooting in the parking lot of the Edmondson Village Shopping Center.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to Dorsey's murder.
"These are not just 19 young lives lost, but these are 19 families who were shattered and countless friends, classmates and teachers left devastated,"Santelises said.
Izaiah Carter, only 16 years old, was fatally shot on March 6 in a park near Patterson High School where he was a student.
Investigators believe 23-year-old Roger Alexander Alvarado-Mendoza, who was arrested and charged with first-degree murder shot Carter after a dispute.
"Nineteen children didn't show up for dinner last night," Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, the deputy mayor of Baltimore, said. "Nineteen children won't get that chance to close out the school year with their classmates this June. It is clear that we can no longer just look to parents, schools, government or the police to solve this problem. Every single one of us should feel the weight of the responsibility to be a part of the solution."
Carter's mother, Michelle Hines, attended the ceremony of peace and remembrance. She said the ceremony was too last minute and claimed that other grieving mothers did not know about the event.
"I'm in a grief group with other mothers and they didn't know about this," Hines said. "Their children's names are on these posters and they didn't know."
Nineteen names were on posters.
"Now y'all know it wasn't just a couple of kids, it was a lot of kids," Hines said. "That was the only outcome. We didn't talk about how this is going to stop. Y'all didn't tell us what the initiative is, so why are we having a remembrance event for children killed? And the idea was this year was 19 and last year was less? Why does this happen every year?"