Witness speaks about chaos from shooting near Dunbar High football game that left 12-year-old wounded
BALTIMORE - A 12-year-old boy is still recovering after being shot Friday evening along East Madison Street just outside the Dunbar High School football stadium.
The violence stopped the game and sent people at the Dunbar-Loyola football game scrambling for cover.
Val Jenkins, who founded the non-profit Hug Don't Shoot, was there with her family and said it was surreal.
"This was like being on a TV set. This can't be real. I can't believe it," Jenkins said.
Jenkins was excited to support her granddaughter, a freshman.
Then, the gunfire started.
"She's so little. She was down on the field. It was her first time ever, being new at the school. The next thing you know, I heard pop, pop, pop, pop. People ran all over the place. I panicked, and I am trained to know what to do in that case," Jenkins said.
"At this point, I'm really messed up because I don't even know if the football team is shot. So when you hear these gunshots, I didn't even know how many there was."
She cradled her daughter and her daughter's 5-month-old goddaughter who were sitting next to her.
"I'm seeing students fall down the steps trying to run," Jenkins said. "People running, people screaming… I go down to field to see if my granddaughter is ok.
She said, "I love on her and kiss her and hug on her, and then I'm like, 'Come on. Let's go!'"
She praised the quick response of city and school police and school staff.
"Their job was to be there to protect the community, and that's what they did," Jenkins said.
Still, the pain and trauma she felt after she left the field was almost too much to bear.
"I pulled over on the side of the road, and I broke down crying out of anger," Jenkins said.
She posted an emotional video on Facebook live.
Jenkins' non-profit has responded to many violent incidents including the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting.
"The mayor can't do it alone. The governor can't do it alone. We need teamwork," she said.
"Give your children a hug and show them love because if they know what love is, they wouldn't kill another person," Jenkins told WJZ.
Now, her heart breaks for the 12-year-old boy wounded in that shooting.
"I just want to hold him. This boy is going to be traumatized the rest of his life," she said.
WJZ found there have been five juveniles shot within two blocks of the scene in East Baltimore since February alone. That includes the 12-year-old victim of Friday's shooting.
If you know anything about the case, call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-Lockup.
