Mass shooting by black shooters upon black people in 70% black Baltimore blamed on white police not using intelligence on black criminals to stop black shooting? Yes.
Residents and community leaders criticized the police department’s lack of presence at the “Brooklyn Day” block party, where dozens were shot, two fatally. https://t.co/oze9FWvCxR
— The Patriot-News (@PatriotNews) July 4, 2023
Police response to crowd before mass shooting was ‘too late’: Baltimore commissioner, PennLive.com, July 4, 2023
BALTIMORE — In the aftermath of Sunday’s mass shooting in South Baltimore, police continue to search for suspects as city leaders and community members are asking whether authorities properly responded to calls about hundreds of people gathered, including reports about some with guns.
Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley said Monday that the department was “too late” in having conversations Saturday evening about whether more police resources were needed in the area before the shooting.
His comments followed criticism from neighborhood residents and community leaders about the Police Department’s lack of presence at the annual “Brooklyn Day” block party.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get there in time to prevent what happened,” Worley said at a news conference.
Residents of the Brooklyn Homes public housing complex and surrounding communities were gathered Saturday evening into Sunday for the annual neighborhood block party when at least two people opened fire in a crowd of hundreds shortly after midnight, Sunday, authorities said.
Two people were killed and more than two dozen others, mostly young people, were injured.
Baltimore City Council’s Public Safety Committee announced it would hold an oversight hearing July 13 to examine responses from the police and other agencies to the event, including what agencies knew about the event and when they knew it.
Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, who represents the Brooklyn neighborhood, issued a statement in the immediate aftermath of the shooting that said there were “multiple levels of system failure from various agencies.”
On Monday, Porter said “those responsible for the breakdown in our security and safety protocols must be held accountable for the lack of focus on sufficient precautionary measures.”
“We cannot allow such a tragic event to go unresolved or forgotten,” Porter said.
On Monday, authorities asked the public for any information about the shooters — police have said there were at least two. Detectives are continuing to interview victims, and police officials said Monday that more than two guns were used. A $28,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest or charges.
Brooklyn Homes resident Iris Henry, who visited a resource fair at the housing complex’s community center Monday, said the presence of one or two police cars might have prevented the violence.
“They should’ve been there, just to have that presence,” she said. “It should have been a curfew. 12 (a.m.) should’ve been the end of the party.”
Worley said the department didn’t know Brooklyn Day was happening Saturday until the day of the event, and that organizers hadn’t gotten a permit for it. Last year, Worley said, the department knew about the event three days in advance and was able to create a staffing plan for it.
However, the department was aware hundreds of people were at the party at least 2-1/2 hours before the fatal shooting happened, according to police dispatch audio from the Southern police district. Just before 10 p.m., dispatchers said an anonymous person had called about “hundreds of males and females armed with guns and knives” at the Brooklyn Homes.
This could all end so quickly.
Black people shoot each other; blame whites. Knowing black people will shoot each other … use technology to stop the horror, but then white people are the good guys.
