City Council seeks answers from Baltimore agencies on moments leading to block party mass shooting
BALTIMORE - Nearly two weeks ago, a mass shooting during a block party in South Baltimore left two young adults dead and 28 other people injured.
Baltimore's City Council hopes to learn more from city agencies about what they knew leading up to that "Brooklyn Day" party.
At Thursday's hearing, the council will hear from the City Housing Authority, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), the Department of Transportation and Baltimore City Police.
City leaders will get a better idea of how this annual event with hundreds of people ended in chaos and tragedy.
"The elected officials, the mayor, and the Housing Authority, everybody's trying to cover their own butt," said Rev. Annie Chambers, from the Resident Advisory Board."
Chambers, a longtime public housing resident, and advocate, said there are plenty of people to answer for the lack of security at the annual Brooklyn Day celebration on July 2.
"They said over a thousand people were at this block party and no policemen came? You know that's not true," Chambers said.
In a sit-down interview with WJZ and our media partner The Baltimore Banner, Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley would not directly blame staffing.
But he said some officers did get off duty at 7 p.m. after working four hours of overtime.
"We are willing to pay the overtime for the officers to work," Worley said. "What happened is we did not get enough volunteers to stay the entire eight hours."
Acting Commissioner Worley described an unreleased body-worn camera video of one of the first officers on the scene who was treating a gunshot victim while a citizen was holding down his microphone so he could communicate on his radio.
That victim was taken to Harbor Hospital and survived.
Worley said the department is working on an after-action report on its response and hopes to have it completed in the coming weeks.
"Every piece of data we have— radio transmissions, cell phones, text messages —everything we have to see, who knew, everything they did once they found out, and the result of what was done."
Worley said that the report could lead to disciplinary action.
Police brass are not the only ones with questions from Baltimore City lawmakers and residents.
The City's Housing Authority, which runs Brooklyn Homes, said they didn't know about the party and no staffers were onsite during it.
Police dispatch and neighbors have described nearly 1,000 people at the annual event.
"This had never happened before in 25 years (of Brooklyn Day)," Chambers said.
Chambers hopes the tragedy can bring positive change.
"The people would get better protection and better services from the Housing Authority," Chambers said. "That's what I'd like to see."
Baltimore City's response has calmed down a great deal.
The City's Peace Mobile is no longer in from of the community center.
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