In wake of shooting near Baltimore school, nonprofit recruits citizens for patrol program

BALTIMORE -- A nonprofit is recruiting volunteers for its school patrol program after a shooting near a Baltimore high school left a student injured on Monday, Nov. 11.  

A 15-year-old boy was shot in the neck, abdomen and leg around 2:30 p.m. near Dunbar High School, Baltimore police said. He was taken to surgery and is expected to recover.  

In response to the shooting, One In Five Foundation For Kids - a nonprofit created after a 2022 mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas – announced recruiting efforts for its STOPNOW citizen patrol teams.  

The program aims to increase student safety and provide crisis intervention support for students.  

Officials with the foundation said Dunbar High School will be one of the first schools on the patrol roster. Patrol members will be specially trained in situational awareness, conflict resolution and self defense, according to officials. 

In a statement Friday, officials said the latest shooting "reflects a growing 'normal'" of student violence in the city. The foundation hopes to address the trend on a community-wide, grassroots level. 

On Thursday, the One In Five Foundation For Kids said it would offer a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the Dunbar High School shooting, raising the total reward to $9,000.  

The foundation said the STOPNOW trained patrol teams will patrol several locations within district schools over the next few weeks.  

The volunteer teams are expected to include over a dozen members for rotation. The program currently has teams at several "historically troubled school neighborhoods," or those impacted by gun violence, including Morgan State University, Michigan State University, and Choctaw High School, according to the foundation.