Mothers remember 262 people murdered in Baltimore in 2023, pray for peace in new year

BALTIMORE -- There were 262 people murdered in Baltimore in 2023. While the number of people killed in the city decreased in 2023—more than 20% from the year before—it is little consolation to the families of those who were killed that year. 

WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren attended the emotional New Year's Day vigil to remember their lives.

About 25 people gathered at Roberta's House on North Avenue where loved ones read the names of victims one by one. 

The Mothers Of Murdered Sons and Daughters organization has been holding the vigil for years, and it never gets any easier. 

Daphne Alston, whose own son was murdered in 2008, has been reading the names of those killed every New Year's Day for more than a decade. 

"This is not acceptable, and we no longer are going to put up with that," Alston said. "One homicide this year is too many."

The year 2023 began with the murder of 17-year-old D'Asia Garrison and included many young victims.

Also, just weeks after graduating high school, 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez was killed in the mass shooting at Brooklyn Homes. Her cousin, Fandreia Bowman, read her name.

"She was so beautiful, so talented," Bowman told WJZ. "Her mother just wasn't up to it today, and someone had to come to express their gratitude to this organization to read her name and to read the names of the others who were murdered unfortunately in 2023."

Last year was the first time since 2014 that Baltimore recorded fewer than 300 homicides.

For the many mothers here, the heartbreak never goes away.

"You know what the pain feels like to kiss your child's cold lips because you know that's the last time you're going to kiss them," said Victory Swift, whose 19-year-old son Victorious Swift was killed in 2017. 

In 2022, 640 people were shot and survived last year in Baltimore. The number of non-fatal shootings was down 7% in 2023.

In:
• Baltimore
• Homicide
• Crime