Bayview community members take stand against violence, walk for slain high school student
BALTIMORE -- Residents of Southeast Baltimore held a vigil on Tuesday for a 16-year-old boy who was shot in a park near his school on Monday.
Members of the Bayview Community Association gathered together to honor the life of Izaiah Carter on Tuesday evening.
Carter was shot in Joseph E. Lee Park shortly before classes ended for the day at nearby Patterson High School, which is where he was a student before his untimely death.
Community association members told WJZ that they are worried about the safety of the neighborhood because detectives have yet to find the person who is responsible for his murder.
"It's America in 2023," Mike Ball of Baltimore said. "How is this happening?"
Investigators say other students were around at the time of the shooting, but everyone ran away after shots were fired.
Classes were canceled at Patterson High School, but grief counselors were at the school for students.
"Our children, they don't feel safe anymore," Bayview community member Janet Arce said. "I mean, kids are scared to go to school."
Community association members said that they have spoken to their neighbors and the police about their concerns over a recent uptick in crime in the normally quiet Bayview area.
They said that they have tried talking to city leaders and officers about the uptick in crime in their area but have yet to hear anyone put forward a plan to reduce the crime.
"I knew something like this was going to happen because no one came up with a plan," Bayview Community Association President Cesar Romero said. "I want to see the city leaders to act, don't talk."
They hope the walk and vigil for Carter but send will the message that violence will not be tolerated.
"Make sure that this doesn't happen again," Romero said. "This is one of the safest neighborhoods in Baltimore and we do not want to feel threatened."
There is an $8,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of the person who shot Carter.