Two Killed And One Injured In Southwest Baltimore Shooting
Editor's Note 2/17: Police initially identified the victims killed as juveniles. They have since been identified as a 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old man.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Homicide detectives are investigating a shooting that killed two young men and injured a third on Wednesday, according to authorities.
Officers responded to a report of gunfire in the 3500 block of Gelston Drive at 6:20 p.m.
Once there, they found a 15-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg, police said.
They also found two unidentified males, ages 19 and 20, suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds. Both eventually died from their injuries, according to authorities.
Over the past several months, five teenagers have been gunned down between the 3500 block of Gelston Drive and the 3700 block of Gelston Drive.
Police records show that a 16-year-old male and a 17-year-old male were shot and killed in the 3600 block of Gelston Drive around 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 1.
Before that, a 15-year-old female was shot in the 3700 block of Gelston Drive around 12:55 a.m. on August 10, 2021. She was taken to a local hospital where she later died from her injuries, according to authorities.
"Our kids are not even making it to 16, 17 years old—dying in the streets," neighbor Kimberley Deets said.
The three teenagers were among six people who were shot in less than an hour on Wednesday evening.
Police found a 26-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds when they were responding to a shooting in the 1400 block of Mullikin Court at 6:20 p.m., according to authorities.
Across the city, in the 1700 block of Cole Street, officers responded to a shooting that injured a 23-year-old man and a male whose age police have not determined at 5:25 p.m. Due to the nature of their injuries, homicide detectives are assisting with the investigation, police said.
The new round of shootings come during a crime wave that has prompted Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison to call on the public to step up and help police solve violent crimes.
Earlier in the day, the Baltimore Police Department released statistics showing that it had tracked 47 homicides and 85 non-fatal shootings in the city this year.
Those numbers have increased over last year's statistics, according to authorities. Police statistics show that during the same time period of 2021 there were 38 homicides and 67 non-fatal shootings.
The calls for the violence to end are getting louder over time. But some people say that the tight-lipped culture of the city will keep people from speaking up, which means violent crimes may go unsolved.
"They might see someone get killed right in front of them and they'd mind their business," Corey Moore of West Baltimore said.
It would take a miracle for that behavior to change—perhaps even an act of God, Moore said.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact them at Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.
