16-Year-Old Girl Found Dead In Burning Baltimore Home
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Children--caught in the crossfire. Another violent weekend ends with three children shot and a 16-year-old girl killed. With so many young victims, community concerns are growing.
Christie Ileto has more on the problem.
Arnesha Bowers, 16, would have been taking her finals Monday. Instead, she's part of a growing statistic of homicides in the city.
Another child, another casualty of the rampant crime sweeping Baltimore. Detectives believe 16-year-old Arnesha Bowers was killed before her home was intentionally torched.
"I pull the curtains and I see cops, fire trucks," said Vaea Hess.
"It was devastating to hear that it was a young girl," said Kim Hill.
Her neighbors aren't the only ones struggling with the devastating discovery.
"She was active. You would see her in all these different clubs. You would see her walking down the hallway. And she would speak to everybody. She was a real nice person," said Shayla Williams, student.
News quickly travels to her high school, Baltimore City College.
"I didn't believe it. And then people kept talking about it. And now you're here. Oh my god, this is real," said Kyra Davis, student.
Police don't know if Arnesha was targeted or if this was random, but the 16-year-old was one of a handful of kids who fell victim to the violence sweeping the city over the weekend.
An 8, 10 and 13 year old were caught in the crossfire of gunshots in two separate incidents in one day.
"Most of the young ones are innocent bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Dolores Jenkins.
Twenty-two kids have been shot this year--up 600 percent from 2014.
City leaders and cops now walk neighborhood blocks, promoting citizen patrol.
"The community has to come forward. The police can't solve these crimes by themselves. They need people to come forward," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
Or else Baltimore's children will continue to be collateral damage in this undercurrent of crime.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 410-396-2100.
