'It Is Senseless': Slain Fells Point Bouncer Mourned As Brazen Shootings Rise In Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Marco Nunez, a 30-year-old father, is one of Baltimore's latest homicide victims. A makeshift memorial marks the spot where he was shot and killed early Monday morning in Fells Point.
Police said the bouncer was found with multiple gunshot wounds outside Riptide Bar in the 1700 block of Thames Street around 1 a.m. He was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Nunez was trying to "prevent an altercation between two groups" when he was shot, police said.
"The city should be safe," said Frank Desimone, a longtime property owner in Fells Point. "It's horrible. A person is alive one day and dead the next. There's no excuse for it."
WJZ spoke to Nunez's friend, Mike Katris, who employed him for security at Rodos bar.
"It is senseless," Katris said. "It's a shame what happened. It didn't have to happen, but that's the city we live."
He started a fundraiser to help pay for funeral costs, which has raised over $8,500 within a day.
"People knew Marco, and I think they knew what kind of person he was, and that's why they wanted to help his family out," Katris told WJZ investigator Mike Hellgren. "And I'd like to do something for his children. I can't bring their father back but just something just to ease the pain a little bit on the kids."
Mayor Brandon Scott decried the violence but declined to discuss crime strategy.
"Every act of violence is senseless. And we know that this person was loved and everybody who was killed is loved and we feel for the family," the mayor told WJZ Tuesday.
Baltimore is experiencing a surge in shootings.
The recent brazen violence also includes a shootout related to a stolen dirt bike that unfolded in front of a Northwest Baltimore synagogue over the weekend.
Back In Fells Point, Nunez was shot just feet from police officers. The person who killed him was still able to escape.
"We had police officers at the end of this block when this happened. This again shows people do not care," Mayor Scott said.
Baltimore Police on Tuesday released images of three men and four women of interest in the fatal shooting. Governor Larry Hogan said the state will match the Metro Crime Stoppers' $8,000 reward for information in the slaying, doubling the reward to $16,000.
"He was a good human being. Like I said, he was not confrontational. He just made everyone's day. He was always positive. He was always fun. Positive vibes. That's what this world lost," Katris said. "These guys, whoever went out, hey had an intention of hurting someone. I know Marco. He was not that kind of person, and that's why we all loved him."
