2 people are dead and 28 people were injured in mass shooting at a Baltimore block party, officials say
Jul 2, 2023, 1:00 PM
A view from the scene of a mass shooting incident at the 800 block of Gretna Court in Baltimore, Maryland, United States on July 2. About 30 people were injured and several individuals were killed. Two people are deceased and three people are in critical condition.
(CNN) — An 18-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man were killed and 28 others injured in a mass shooting at a Baltimore block party, officials said.
Nine people were transported from the scene to hospitals and 20 people walked into hospitals in the area. Three of the injured are in critical condition, according to a police statement.
The 18-year-old was pronounced dead on the scene and the 20-year-old was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.
Twelve patients are being treated at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center, and four patients are being treated at the medical center’s pediatric emergency department, the University of Maryland Medical System spokesman Michael Schwartzberg said in an emailed statement.
Police received multiple calls after 12:30 a.m., and arrived to find one woman dead and another nine people suffering from gunshot wounds, according to Baltimore Police Acting Commissioner Richard Worley.
There is no information on suspects or a motive at this time, but investigators are “working an extensive crime scene,” Worley said.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described the incident as a “reckless, cowardly act that happened here and that has permanently altered many lives and cost two people their lives.”
Scott said the block party was in celebration of Baltimore’s Brooklyn neighborhood, which he described as a working-class neighborhood filled with immense pride.
“It’s an event that happens in Brooklyn every year,” he told CNN’s Victor Blackwell and Amara Walker. “Folks were out there having a celebration and then at some point, gunshots rang out and folks of course were trying to get away, get out of there.”
“It is a neighborhood that has had its troubles, but a neighborhood that has seen some folks in that community really determined to see it be successful and see things turn around,” he added.
Earlier, Scott said the tragedy “highlights the impacts and the need to deal with the overproliferation of illegal guns on our streets and the ability for those who should not have them to get their hands on them.”
Scott and police officials urged anyone with information to come forward and help find those responsible. The mayor also said he is mobilizing every resource available to assist the investigation.
His message to the perpetrator was simple: “We will not stop until we find you – and we will find you.”
“Until then, I hope with every single breath that you take that you think about the lives that you took and you think about the lives that you impacted here tonight,” he added.
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