Caught on Video: Police seek five suspects involved in armed robbery in West Baltimore
BALTIMORE - A brazen beating and robbery was caught on camera last month in West Baltimore.
Now, police are asking for help to identify five suspects wanted in connection with the armed robbery on Robert Street in the Madison Park neighborhood.
The video shows one of the suspects on January 29 picking up a wooden plank. Then, seconds later, all five attacked and robbed a man while he's crossing the street.
This is just the latest incident in a rash of similar violent crimes in the neighborhood.
A neighbor living near the Madison Park neighborhood reported becoming the victim of an attempted robbery over the weekend, which was one of several incidents in recent weeks.
"One of them, when they grabbed my arm, as I tried to get by them, one of them said 'I got a gun,'" the neighbor said.
In the case of this survivor, he said a nearby resident was able to scare the duo off by yelling.
Just a week or so before that, a person was walking alone across a residential street off Eutaw Place and was beaten and robbed.
Baltimore Police put out the surveillance video in connection to the crime, asking for leads.
Investigators say that the group ran up behind the person and punched, kicked and used the wooden plank in the robbery.
The victim was taken to the hospital but has since been released.
Earlier in January, across the street in the Bolton Hill community, a 77-year-old father and his 22-year-old son were beaten outside of their home in an attempted carjacking while bringing in groceries.
The father was severely hurt and is still recovering after having brain surgery.
The recent attacks have some looking over their shoulders.
"Your awareness goes up and your trust kind of goes down," said a resident who didn't want to be identified. "So, that's been taken away from you. It's a continuous assault."
Data from the Baltimore Police Department shows the total number of robberies is up 16% year-to-date.
Metro Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of one or more of the suspects.
