Downtown Baltimore Residents React To Shooting Outside Hippodrome Theatre
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A shooting on the steps of the Hippodrome Theatre, while a broadway show was going on inside, shook a typically quiet block of downtown Baltimore Wednesday night.
Officers on patrol responded to Eutaw Street around 8 p.m. to find a 25-year-old man shot multiple times in the chest.
Taylor, the manager at Forno, a restaurant across the street, says she saw people running into the theatre for safety after the shooting.
"You're like 'is it a gunshot or a car going off' you know what I mean? But unfortunately, it was a gunshot," she said.
Nashua Thomas, who lives in the neighborhood and rents his place out on Airbnb.
"I've never heard of anyone actually getting shot on this block so that's surprising," Thomas said. He said he tells those who rent his space to stay vigilant in the area.
"The residents and the workers in the area all feel rather unsafe," said Kyle Bowles, who works at Forno and lives in the area with his sister. He told WJZ they often feel unsafe walking at night after work.
"There's been talk between my sister and I about, like, carrying a taser, holding keys, making sure you keep your headphones in, but have no music on so you can hear constantly your surroundings," Bowles said.
While part of downtown Baltimore is being developed, with a new hotel opening up on Eutaw Street and Lexington Market reopening in just a few weeks, residents like Bowles says he hopes the same amount of investment is put into some of the root issues he believes is causing the crime.
"Fix the underlying causes of crime instead of just throwing more money at police to fix it," he said. "There's not a lot of resources going to public health mental health, giving communities access to jobs."
Police said the victim in the shooting is expected to be okay, suffering from non-life threatening injuries.