Three teens shot in 24 hours in Baltimore as parents, community demand action
Three teenagers were shot Sunday in Baltimore as violence impacting youth continues to rise in the city.
In the span of 10 minutes between 9:13 p.m. and 9:22 .m. Sunday, an 18-year-old was shot and killed near Bartlett and Homewood Avenues in East Baltimore, and a 16-year-old boy was shot and survived on Watty Court in West Baltimore.
Vonzella Shaw lives in the community where the 18-year-old was gunned down.
WJZ watched as investigators collected evidence Monday.
Shaw's heart breaks for the victim's family.
"The people who do the crimes don't think about how they would feel if they were gone—if someone took their life. Why would you want your family to go through what other families are going through? It's senseless. We all should be trying to come together and not have all this anger," she told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.
Shaw sees the pain every day. She works two jobs: At a hospital and at a funeral home.
She recently lost a young relative.
"He just turned 21 and he's gone now," Shaw said. "They're not valuing life at all today. Not at all. And they should."
The third teenager shot yesterday was a 14-year-old girl struck in the 1900 block of McCulloh Street.
Police took a juvenile into custody in that case.
One Baltimore mother who asked WJZ not to identify her said her children do not feel safe.
"As a mom, it's in my heart to ache. These kids are dying and it's just ridiculous. You want to grow up in a nice neighborhood where your kids are safe, and nobody is safe nowadays," she said. "There are too many kids dying."
At a city council hearing last week, police said juvenile homicides have increased 67 percent over this time last year.
Police said juvenile shootings were up 55 percent.
The overall number of homicides that have been cleared—or solved—stands at 40 percent, which is below the national average.
Police said an initial slide presented at the hearing showing a 13 percent clearance rate was incorrect.