Baltimore Block Party Shooting Kills 2, Injures 28, 3 Seriously, Police Say – Wake-up Call

Julio Cortez and Holly Reimer (Associated Press)

BALTIMORE (AP) – A shooting at a block party in Baltimore on Sunday left two dead and 28 injured, leaving a massive crime scene that ruined a US holiday weekend, police said. . Three of the injured were in critical condition.

Baltimore Police Department Acting Commissioner Richard Whalley told reporters at a news conference at the scene that the total number of victims was 30.

Worley said the shooting occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. at a block party in the Brooklyn Homes neighborhood in the south of the city.

The shooting occurred during rallies around the country leading up to the 4th of July holiday. Seven people suffered gunshot wounds and two more were hospitalized after people were stepped on as they ran out of a nightclub early Sunday morning in another Kansas shooting, state police said. .

Worley said nine victims were transported by ambulance and 20 victims were walked to local hospitals with gunshot wounds.

Nineteen of those victims were treated in the emergency department of Medstar Harbor Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Debra Schindler said. Nine of the seriously injured patients were in stable condition and were taken to the Baltimore Trauma Center. Of the 19 victims sent to Medstar, all but one were released.

“As is the norm for walk-in victims of violence, the hospital immediately went into lockdown to secure the campus and ensure the safety of all patients and associates,” Schindler said in a statement. “Several critically injured patients were evaluated and triaged simultaneously by clinical staff, while hospital security guards managed large numbers of families congregating inside and outside the emergency department.”

Meanwhile, more than a dozen victims were sent for treatment at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, according to University of Maryland Medical System spokesman Michael Schwartzberg, while four others were sent to the University of Maryland Medical System for treatment. He was sent to the pediatric emergency department of the center.

An 18-year-old woman was found dead at the scene, and a 20-year-old man was pronounced dead in hospital shortly after, police said.

Mayor Brandon Scott said at the scene, “I want the responsible people to hear me, I want them to hear me clearly.” “We won’t stop until we find you, and we will find you. Until then, every time you breathe, think of the lives you’ve taken, and the lives you’ve touched here tonight.” We hope.”

No arrests were made immediately after the shooting. Scott called on anyone with information to come forward to help investigators find the “scoundrel” responsible for the shooting.

“My heart goes out to these victims, their families, and the Baltimore community as they grapple with their loss,” said Gov. Wes Moore.

“Maryland is sick and tired of seeing gun violence continue to destroy our state and nation,” Moore said in a statement. “The fact that such horrific shootings are still going on is abhorrent. We as a nation will continue to do everything we can to prevent the senseless acts of violence we saw last night.”

Authorities said the crime scene was extensive and that criminal investigations would take time.

“Treat this like your own family,” Scott said. “If you were in mourning, if this was your neighborhood, if this was an event in your area, how would you like people to treat it? I want you to treat me that way because I have to treat you that way.”

Hours after the shooting, dozens of police remained at the scene, working behind police tape in the densely packed two-story residential neighborhood. Folding tables and plastic cups were scattered about the scene, believed to have been left behind as people fled from the sound of gunfire.

Raquel Nelson said there were several false alarms early in the evening when she was attending a block party where people mistook the sound of fireworks for gunshots. But by the time she arrived in her car, the actual filming had begun.

“The shots went on and on,” she said.

Two young women then approached her and said they had been shot, one showing how the bullet had penetrated her shorts.

Nelson said he told the women to get in the car and drove to the nearest hospital, ignoring the red lights.

“My car was almost ready to enter the hospital when I parked at the hospital door because I was determined to take the babies to the hospital,” Nelson said. .

The violence occurred this week as federal prosecutors in Baltimore touted efforts to reduce violent crime in the city. Police have reported nearly 130 murders and nearly 300 shootings so far this year, down from the same period last year. Authorities have vowed to aggressively crack down on repeat violent offenders.

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Remer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Kimberly Crucy of Nashville, Tennessee contributed to this report.