May killings in Baltimore highest of the century

May killings in Baltimore highest of the century

The "deplorable" shootings "are all over the city."

Nine shootings in Baltimore over the Memorial Day holiday weekend put bullets into 29 people, bringing the total killed so far this month to 35. The Baltimore Sun says this makes May the deadliest month in that city since 1999.

Among those shot this weekend were a 9-year old boy. He was shot in a leg while a teenager was shot in an arm.

William “Pete” Welch, a member of the city council, said that the “deplorable” shootings “are all over the city,” stating that no neighborhood was immune to the violence. He had never seen anything like it, he said.

Howard Libit, speaking for mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, pointed out that Baltimore has made unspecified progress around the issue, so the mayor is therefore “disheartened and frustrated” by the sustained violence.

The mayor had a two hour meeting Sunday with the Anthony W. Batts, the police commissioner. Afterward, Libit reported her confidence the police department is taking steps that “will quell this latest uptick in violence.”

In a letter to community leaders, Batts said his department is “moving aggressively” to address the violence and “to equip ourselves for the future.”

Councilman Bill Henry said that one of the proposals, to put more money toward police, is not an answer. He said violence will continue until young men in Baltimore have jobs. He said there has been “a generation of disinvestment in the human capital of Baltimore” and the results of this are now being seen. “The underground economy,” he said, is enticing “when you don’t have access to any other type of job.”

 

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