Gov. Moore pays private visit to Brooklyn Homes residents 7 weeks after mass shooting

BALTIMORE -- Megan moved into Brooklyn Homes days after the mass shooting and told WJZ despite concerns over violence, she is grateful to have a place to live with her 7-year-old daughter. 

"I'm a single mom and I really don't have family or support so I had to take what I could get so to speak. So, I had to tell myself home is what you make it," Megan said. She declined to give her last name. "I have heard the helicopters and stuff like that. So, it is a little frightening just because I have my daughter and stuff and she's seven. She gets a little frightened. So, it frightens me and makes me a little upset. Hopefully, over time, people can just come together. You know what I mean? We all live here, why make it hell?"

Gov. Wes Moore visited with Brooklyn Homes residents in private on Tuesday. The visit was placed on his official calendar. He declined to speak to the media.

Moore also visited the community in July, several days after the shooting.

"It shouldn't take something bad to happen for him to come out here," Megan said. "Obviously, we need work to be done. Focus on those places maybe a little bit more than places that are already doing alright."

It has been a little more than seven weeks since the shooting that injured 28 people and killed 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi.

Last week, police arrested 18-year-old Tristan Jackson in connection to the shooting. They allege video shows Jackson firing into the crowd. 

Police also used GPS monitoring to place him at the scene. Court records show Jackson was placed on home monitoring for bringing a gun into Mervo High earlier this year. 

"We have to get to the core of this," Mayor Brandon Scott told WJZ Monday. "Look, you guys have heard me talk ad nauseam about home monitoring. Hell, I had a bill in Annapolis this year to deal exactly with this issue only to find out that what? This young man who participated in the Brooklyn shooting was on home monitoring. This isn't anything new."

Jackson is being held without bail. 

Megan is staying optimistic and sees her new home here as a fresh start, and just wants her neighbors to support each other. 

"Maybe one smile to another will change things. You never know. One word can change somebody's life entirely," she said. 

Related Coverage:

• Media Partner Baltimore Banner: 911 calls show terror during Brooklyn Homes mass shooting
• 911 tapes show distress, desperation on night of Brooklyn Homes mass shooting
• Brooklyn Homes residents recover 7 weeks after mass shooting, governor pays private visit
• Suspect held without bail in Brooklyn Homes mass shooting that left 28 injured, 2 dead
• Charging Documents: Second suspect in Brooklyn Homes mass shooting was on GPS monitoring

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