Fear And Frustration: 18 People Shot In Baltimore Last Weekend, Including Two Fells Point Shootings
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Eighteen people were shot from Friday through Sunday in Baltimore, an increase from the sixteen people shot the weekend before—and many longtime residents are fed up.
"I don't even think Batman can help us. That's how bad it is," said Mark Walker, who grew up in the city. "I just don't see it getting better. I really don't. And it's a shame. It was a great city at one time. It really was. It is almost a shell of what it used to be."
There were two shootings in Fells Point roughly two hours apart on Sunday.
Baltimore police released surveillance images of a group of people and a gray Acura TL sedan in connection with a shooting in the 1600 block of Aliceanna Street.
Gunfire there injured two men early Sunday morning. One of them was shot in the stomach. It happened at 2:19 a.m.
The other shooting in Fells Point occurred at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday. Officers found a man with multiple gunshot wounds on Thames Street.
The mayor blames guns and repeat, violent offenders.
"The prevalence of guns, the easy access to guns by folks who shouldn't have them leads up to these incidents," Mayor Brandon Scott said at a news conference Monday afternoon. "Basic, minor conflicts that lead to someone shot or dead because someone has access to guns they shouldn't have in the first place. There needs to be swift and certain consequences for people when we catch them because I know I'm tired of it and I know the police commissioner is tired of it: That we arrest someone for some crime and maybe one year, maybe two years, maybe three years later we are arresting that same person for another violent act."
The deadliest violence happened at a shopping center near Frankford Avenue and Sinclair Lane in Northeast Baltimore where two young men died and a woman survived.
Orange cones marked the numerous shell casings and other evidence. The strip mall has been the scene of other shootings in the past including multiple killings in 2015.
"There were multiple shooters who were shooting both inside and outside of the convenience store with officers about 150 feet away," Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said.
Police released surveillance images of a vehicle in connection to another triple shooting last Wednesday at another shopping mall just around the corner.
Another man was killed in the 800 block of South Hanover Street on Saturday. Police said on Monday that "all the collected evidence would suggest the victim in this case was targeted."
Some people are losing hope that police will ever get the shootings under control.
"It's very disturbing that people can go out in their communities and they're getting shot. It's scary as far as I'm concerned," a man who declined to give his name told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "It breaks my heart to know that we're living in a society where there's so much upheaval and so much fear. It saddens me. It's very unnerving and it's very disturbing."
Police did list arrests made over the weekend, including one for murder, eight for handgun violations and 40 for aggravated assault.
The Baltimore police union criticized city leaders for having "no crime plan" and tallied 17 homicides and 42 shootings in the past ten days alone.