The latest killing in Carroll-South Hilton continued a surge of violence -- more than a killing per day -- that began in late April following Freddie Gray's death and the accompanying unrest. The spate of violence, along with the city's population decline over time, now has Baltimore poised to hit another sobering milestone: the deadliest year on a per capita basis. That is an abrupt turnaround from 2011, when city leaders were encouraged by the first drop below 200 homicides since the 1970s. "Unless we come together as an entire community we are just going to continue to watch this happen," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who has found herself waking up in the middle of the night to check her phone for reports of another homicide. "It weighs on my mind every waking minute and it weighs on my mind when I'm asleep."
City Councilman Brandon Scott, who was a teenager in Baltimore in the 1990s, said the pace of violence drove him into public service. "I'm so sick of this," the 31-year-old said at the scene of a recent killing in his Northeast Baltimore district, as homicide detectives scoured the block. "I'm disappointed in all of us in Baltimore ... from leadership on down, that we have allowed ourselves as a city to fall back to the reason why I got into this work -- to not allow these children to live through what I lived through as a child," he said. Gov. Larry Hogan called the spike "atrocious" and a "horrible situation" that must be solved. "Baltimore City is just out of control with respect to the murder rate," Hogan said in a recent WBAL radio appearance.
Baltimore crime lab recording technician Thomas Wisner takes photos during an investigation into the fatal stabbing of a 27-year-old male
Shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday, police were called to the 3200 block of West Baltimore Street where they found the victim with multiple stab wounds. He was taken to Shock Trauma but died, police said. The man, who was not identified, had been stabbed around the corner in the first block of N. Abington Ave before running or walking to Baltimore Street where he collapsed, police said. The scene was mostly deserted as dusk fell Saturday. Three children stood behind crime tape and bickered for a while before wandering off. An officer dropped evidence markers at the scene. One marked H stood by a pool of blood in the street while the officer took photographs. The killing was the fifth this year within a block of the intersection of Baltimore and Hilton Streets.
Baltimore's 2015 murder rate currently sits at 47 per 100,000 people, second only to St. Louis, which has also seen a steep spike in gun violence this year. Total shootings in Baltimore are up nearly 80 percent over the comparable period last year, while other types of crime, including robbery and burglary, have also increased. Efforts to combat the street crime come as the Department of Justice continues an investigation into allegations of brutality and other issues within the Baltimore Police Department. Meanwhile, the city is bracing for the first of six trials for the police officers charged in Gray's arrest and death; it is scheduled to begin Nov. 30.
MORE
