BALTIMORE, Maryland (USA) — Five people were killed and seven others injured in several separate shootings Saturday in Baltimore, police said Sunday as reported by the Baltimore Sun.
At about 2:30 a.m., police responded to a reported shooting in the 700 block of N. Patterson Park Ave. in the Milton-Montford neighborhood in East Baltimore.
Officers found three women — ages 23, 27 and 28 — suffering from apparent gunshot wounds in a sedan, police said.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said Sunday that the shooting “appears” to have stemmed from an argument that occurred “at a social club” on the corner of East Chase Street and North Patterson Park Avenue. Although Harrison didn’t identify the club by name, a bar named Patchase is present in the aforementioned intersection.
The three women left the club and entered the sedan before they stopped at a traffic light on North Patterson Park Avenue, Harrison said. At that moment, someone inside “an approaching car” began shooting at the women, Harrison said.
“We haven’t yet fully determined and proven that, but that is what is believed at this time,” he said.
All three women were taken to area hospitals, police said, but the 28-year-old woman died soon after arriving at Johns Hopkins Hospital. A person of interest has been identified and is wanted for questioning, Harrison said.
Patterson Park residents, meanwhile, placed several balloons on the block where the shooting was reported. Although several vacant homes lined the street, some residents on Sunday afternoon could be seen passing by the balloons. Many of them stopped near the memorial balloons before they left to carry out their day.
One woman in the area said she lived on the corner of North Patterson Park Avenue at East Madison Street. The woman declined to give her name, citing safety concerns. She told The Baltimore Sun she was in her bedroom Saturday morning when she heard “at least four gunshots.”
“You just have to pray,” she said. “I don’t know if prayers help, but we need prayers.”
The 57-year-old mother said she moved into the city after she left her native Jamaica years ago. She said the area of the shooting filled with many people on weekends, including some who use drugs.
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Later Saturday morning, just after 7, officers were sent to the 6300 block of Boston St. in O’Donnell Heights in East Baltimore for a reported shooting. They found a 46-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg, police said. Soon after, a 40-year-old man also suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg arrived at an area hospital, police said.
In another incident, just after 2:30 p.m., police went to the 1400 block of Broening Highway in Medford in East Baltimore and found a man who had been shot. He later died. Police did not provide his age. Homicide detectives were able to identify a person of interest in this case as well “based on citizen’s calls and CitiWatch surveillance video,” Harrison said. That person is also wanted for questioning.
Less than 30 minutes later, a 37-year-old man who had been shot was found in the 1200 block of Druid Hill Ave. in Upton in West Baltimore.
The violence continued Saturday night. At about 7 p.m., a 38-year-old man was found shot in the 200 block of N. Lakewood Ave. in McElderry Park in East Baltimore, police said.
Around 8 p.m., officers found a silver Mercedes-Benz that crashed in the 3400 block of Cliftmont Ave. in Belair-Edison in Northeast Baltimore, Harrison said. The vehicle was covered in gunshots, Harrison said, and officers found the driver was suffering from gunshot wounds. The 37-year-old man was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Detectives are working to determine the original location of the shooting in that case, Harrison said, adding they have yet to find any suspects or a motive.
Also around 8 p.m., two male victims walked into Saint Agnes Hospital after a shooting was reported in the 200 block of N. Hilton St. in Saint Josephs in West Baltimore. However, the officers later learned the shooting occurred in the 100 block of N. Kossuth St. in the same neighborhood, Harrison said.
One of the two aforementioned victims died, and his age wasn’t provided as of Sunday. The other, a 26-year-old man, suffered non-life threatening injuries, police said. Their investigation, Harrison said, revealed that the victims were standing in front of a grocery store when “unknown subjects came from out of an alley and began shooting.”
There are no suspects at this time, Harrison said, and detectives are still searching for a motive.
Later, around 10 p.m., officers responding to a report of a shooting found a 24-year-old man injured in the 1800 block of Bloomingdale Road in Rosemont in Northwest Baltimore. The victim was found with a gunshot wound to his head, Harrison said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Harrison said, and officers have yet to find a motive or any suspects in this case.
Police on Sunday did not release the names of any of the victims. Harrison his department “so far” has been unable to find “any connection between the five murders.” The police department, Harrison said, has “redeployed some of our resources” to distribute its SWAT, K9 and traffic units in the “affected areas” of the city.
“It goes without saying that the level of violence in the city yesterday was deeply disturbing and deeply troubling,” Harrison said. (JGo/Currentph.com)
