Violence Erupts In Two Large, Unsanctioned Crowds In Baltimore Over The Weekend
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Violence erupted in two large, unsanctioned crowds in Baltimore City over the weekend.
In the first incident in Fells Point, five people were shot on Broadway early Saturday morning.
"During the day, it's been calm, it's been great," Kathy Davis, who owns The Seasoned Olive store in the neighborhood said.
The violence is rare and not the Fells Point she loves, she said.
"It shouldn't define this neighborhood at all because this neighborhood is so close-knit, all the people that live here and support this neighborhood," she said.
Several business owners have been concerned about large crowds that gather in Broadway Square on weekend nights. Since the pandemic began, police have broken up large crowds in the area at least three times.
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Last weekend, the city closed several streets in the area to reduce traffic and keep people from gathering. Since then, signs have gone up reminding people Broadway Square closes at 11 p.m.
Davis said she wants to stay positive for all the businesses that are struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"I think it's safe," she said. "Between the Downtown Partnership, we have Wolf Security all the time, they're seven days a week."
Police haven't made any arrests in the shooting.
The second incident happened around 3 a.m. Sunday in the 2300 block of Winchester Street in west Baltimore. Officers were responding to multiple complaints about a large party in a parking lot.
Christopher Earl Charged In Shooting Of Baltimore Police Officer Sunday
As people were leaving, a Range Rover barreled into the lot, police said. Minutes later, the driver, 30-year-old Christopher Earl from Windsor Mill, shot an officer during a struggle.
That officer and his partner were able to arrest Earl, who now faces a dozen criminal charges, including the attempted murder of a police officer.
"Even though our officer was shot, with the help of one other officer the two of them were still able to subdue this subject and take him into custody without injuring that suspect," Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said. "That speaks volumes of the level of restraint, the level of professionalism."
The officer who was shot was in stable condition after surgery.
