Local News

Report on Brooklyn Day shooting echoes concerns from residents

By Paul Gessler

Updated on: August 30, 2023 / 6:14 PM EDT / CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE – The release Wednesday of an after-action review from city agencies offered much of the same narrative Brooklyn residents have shared following July's mass shooting at the Brooklyn Day celebration.

"(The response) was very frustrating," Brooklyn Homes resident Ashley told WJZ earlier this month. "That night, it took too long. We called them at 7 (p.m.). They didn't come until after (midnight)."

The report detailed "officer indifference" on the part of supervisors and officers on July 1, when alerted to large crowds forming at Brooklyn Homes.

Councilman Mark Conway, who chairs the council's Public Safety committee, described the report as "a heartbreaking series of failure and missed opportunities in the lead-up" to the shooting.

The report's Equity Assessment described community members' "repeated" thoughts police would have acted more swiftly if crowds had converged in a predominantly white neighborhood.

Full Conference: City leaders discuss after action reports in Brooklyn Homes mass shooting

"I think there's just historically a larger conversation about the department's relationship with communities of color—black neighborhoods," Conway told WJZ.

Ashley, who lives within the crime scene, agreed police usually do not respond quickly when residents call.

"The way they responded to us was slow, then the way they responded and drove through the community before the shooting even happened, it was like, 'We see it. We can't do anything about it. We're going to come back when something happens,'" Ashley said.

Public housing advocate Annie Chambers told WJZ last month she felt the Housing Authority and police knew about the annual event in advance. The review was able to find two flyers from residents as far out as a month in advance of the event. Residents told investigators "police deliberately chose to ignore them."

"They said over a thousand people were at this block party and no policemen came? You know that's not true," Chambers said.

Janet Abrahams, President and CEO of the Housing Authority of Baltimore City acknowledged a gap in trust and communication between HABC and residents.

"Should we have known? Of course," Abrahams said.

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Paul Gessler

Paul Gessler is a general assignment reporter at WJZ with a decade of experience reporting in Baltimore.

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