'I'm Not Committing The Murders' | Baltimore Mayor Jack Young Says Leadership Not To Blame As City Approaches 300 Homicides
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Baltimore Mayor Jack Young says he should not be held accountable for the high number of murders in the city. His comments follow criticism about the city's leadership after the murder of a beloved coach last week.
"It's not any lack of leadership on my part. I've been moving this city forward," Mayor Young said Wednesday. "I'm not committing the murders. And that's what people need to understand. I'm not committing the murders. The police commissioner is not committing it. The council is not committing it. So how can you fault leadership? You know this has been five years of 300-plus murders, and I don't see it as a lack of leadership."
Baltimore Reaches 300 Murders In 2019
John Hoey, the CEO of the Y of Central Maryland, said in an editorial there has been a "crisis of leadership." He told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren he was devastated by the murder of 31-year-old Jordan Taylor on November 5.
Taylor worked for the Y in Catonsville coaching and mentoring for a decade.
"We've all become to numb to this," Hoey said. "It's not normal to have the murder rate that we have in Baltimore City."
Hoey lives in Baltimore City and said there needs to be more "urgency" when someone is killed. "It's the equivalent of a terrorist strike every year in Baltimore." <
He called Taylor a "gentle soul" and a "rock star" with the children he mentored.
The ATF is offering a $5,000 reward in Taylor's case.
WJZ has learned the three masked suspects were captured on surveillance video outside his apartment in the 4800-block of Clifton Avenue in Gwynn Oak near the city-county line.
Beloved Catonsville YMCA Coach Jordan Taylor Among Victims Fatally Shot In Baltimore
Neighbors reported hearing loud knocking—then gunshots—and Taylor's wife calling for help.
In an emotional Facebook post, Taylor's mom wrote her son died trying to keep save his wife and keep the intruders from entering.
"My kind, caring, loyal, hard-working oldest son, who avoided confrontation at all costs, lost his life facing pure evil. He now adds hero to his long list of character traits."
Taylor's funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
