Harrison urges witnesses to cooperate more to fight crime in Baltimore – CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) – The City of Baltimore’s violent crime is in a revolving cycle, affecting some of the city’s youngest residents.

A 16-year-old man was shot dead yesterday. A 17-year-old man was shot in the chest tonight. Authorities say he is listed in critical condition at a local hospital.

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The city’s ongoing crime crisis prompted Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison to reach out to the public, urging them to say something if they saw something.

Harrison expressed his frustration with city crime during a press conference Tuesday.

City dwellers say they are also very disappointed.

Roshenda Murray is one of many mothers who have lost their children to city violence. She told WJZ that no one would talk to police when her son, Rodrick Antonio, was murdered in 2012 at the age of 18.

And he was even surrounded by friends when he died, she said.

Murray said: ‘He was a few months away from getting his high school diploma and he was murdered right in front of my house.

People aren’t speaking up, and that’s stopping the Baltimore Police Department from tackling the crime, Harrison said.

Murray says it’s because they fear for their lives. If they talk about crimes, the same will happen to them.

There are only 46 days in the new year, but there have been 47 murders in the city. In fact, as of Tuesday afternoon, Baltimore has recorded 47 homicides and 83 non-lethal shootings in 2022, compared with 38 homicides and 67 non-lethal shootings at the same time last year, according to data provided by the city police.

“This is out of control,” says Dr. Thomas Scalea, Head of Trauma speak. “It was very demoralizing. ”

With homicides and shootings in 2022 higher than last year’s numbers, Harrison touted hundreds of recent arrests on Tuesday, saying police were “aggressively hunting down” violent offenders. force.

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Despite those successes, Harrison said investigators need more cooperation from the public in criminal investigations, and he challenged witnesses to come forward and share what they know to help the government bring violent criminals to justice.

“There are people out there who sometimes stand right there and not only do not try to stop this behavior, but are very uncooperative in helping us hold these cowardly criminals accountable,” Harrison said. “To be truly successful in the fight against crime, we all have to work together.”

Harrison said the police department has a homicide resolution rate of 44.7% this year, up from 34.2% in the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, the non-fatal shootings resolution rate ( 22.9%) decreased compared to last year (29.2%).

The commissioner said police continue to tackle violent crimes. He pointed out that in February alone, police made 510 arrests, 11 of them for murder, and they served 280 warrants, including two for murder and five for crime of intentional murder.

Harrison pointed to recent warrants issued for the arrest of Marquise Henry Jr., a The 20-year-old is suspected in two stabbings and rapes of a 13-year-old child. He said a detective is in the process of obtaining another warrant for the man’s arrest.

“This is our assessment to let the people of Baltimore know that we don’t just sit back and watch,” the commissioner said. “We relentlessly pursue violent criminals who commit violent crimes in our city every day.”

But many violent crimes remain unsolved, including the shooting that killed Chesley Patterson, general manager of La Scala Ristorante in Fells Point.

Nino Germano, owner of La Scala Ristorante said: “It is sad that good people die in this city and criminals run this city.

That same night, Cheryl McCormack, a Door Dash delivery mother, was also shot and killed.

“They tried to get my wife’s wallet and hers and she wouldn’t let go and they shot her,” McCormack’s husband said.

The city of Baltimore has been criticized in recent months for its violent crime problem, with critics from Disappointed residents arrive Governor Larry Hogan, who has committed $150 million in funding to support law enforcement across the state.

Harrison said it will take a community effort to bring the violent crime problem under control.

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“It will require the people out there to stand right there when the crime is committed to help us hold those people accountable,” the commissioner said. “Because if nothing changes, nothing changes.”