Baltimore Records More Homicides And Shootings In 2021 Than In 2020
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The city closed a somber chapter Friday night.
The police department released the final numbers for murders and shootings in Baltimore City, and they both show a rise over 2020.
The group, Mothers of Murdered Sons and Daughters, read the names of all the victims killed in 2021 on Saturday afternoon. They said it's important to keep the victims in our memories - and to stop the senseless violence.
"They were someone's children. They were loved. They had emotions and feelings, and they deserve to have lived. And we don't want them to be forgotten," said Daphne Alston, the group's co-founder.
Also on Saturday, Mayor Brandon Scott hosted a virtual vigil of remembrance that remembered all of the loved ones lost in 2021. It honored people who died in Baltimore due to violence, COVID-19 and more.
The mayor emphasized it's important to end both the health crisis and the gun violence problem in the city.
"We can never accept this loss of life as normal because it's not normal, and we can't allow ourselves to grow numb to the loss of life that our city experiences," he said.
For 2021, Baltimore City reported 337 homicides and 726 nonfatal shootings.
