News & Community
City endures two weeks of homicide hell
A frightening 10-day period in late June
Just as the city hoped it might shake its “Bodymore, Murdaland”
reputation with annual homicides two years ago dipping below 200 for the
first time since 1978, two weeks straight out of The Wire gripped residents this summer.
Over a frightening 10-day period in late June, some 40 people were
shot, including 16 killed, once again calling attention to the city’s
gun and gang violence problems.
News of the murder frenzy came in seemingly never-ending bursts via social media. For example, a Sunday morning tweet by Sun
reporter Justin Fenton on June 23 read, “By my count, 15 people have
been shot in Baltimore so far this weekend, including a quintuple
shooting, a triple, and a double.”
In the ensuing days, the number kept climbing as five people were
shot within five hours on June 17. The spike followed an earlier spate
of 12 shootings over Memorial Day weekend, giving rise to concerns that
progress in reducing the homicide rate was being lost.