Brooklyn Homes residents meet with Baltimore Police over deadly mass shooting
BALTIMORE -- More than two months after the largest mass shooting in Baltimore's history, city leaders met with people who live in the apartment community where two people were killed and 28 others injured to have a conversation about what is being done to ensure their safety.
The meeting comes on the heels of the release of an after-action report that cited the shortcomings of authorities as a contributing factor to the melee that erupted in the South Baltimore community of Brooklyn Homes on July 2.
People lined up to speak to city officials about the report, about the mass shooting, and about how to move forward on Thursday. Some of them were shooting victim survivors while others were neighbors who tried to help the wounded.
Throughout the evening, the same theme was heard from person after person: the trauma from more than two months ago is still fresh. Some people believe that more needs to be done to make permanent changes in the Brooklyn Homes community.
"On my behalf, I'm here for new actions and making a change in this community," Taivone Pryor, the Tenant Council Vice President of Brooklyn Homes, told officials.
People were forbidden from recording the meeting, which took place inside Bay Brook Elementary and Middle School.
The office of Mayor Brandon Scott said the decision to forbid recording was to respect the privacy of residents.
Breakdowns in communication, poor leadership, and police officer indifference were evident ahead of the violent gunfire that erupted just after midnight, according to the report.
To date, four people have been arrested in connection to the shooting—two of them under the age of 18.
Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley told community members that video footage and data have played a large role in the police department's ability to make arrests.
"I can tell you, we don't have any eyewitnesses, and we haven't really had anyone come forward and point out any suspects that pulled the trigger," he said. "It's mainly all data and all cameras and ballistics to put things together."
Several suspects still need to be brought to justice in the homicide investigation, Worley said. Anyone with information that could lead to an arrest could nab an $88,000 reward.
