Shots Ring Out During 'Cease Fire' Weekend, Claiming 2 Lives
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Two people have been fatally shot Saturday, during a three-day 'Cease Fire' called for by Baltimore citizens and supported by Mayor Catherine Pugh.
As the effort to keep Baltimore City free of homicides for 72 hours is handed a devastating blow.
RELATED: City Leaders Call For 'Cease Fire' To Combat Violence In Baltimore
Just after 5 p.m. Saturday, police were called to the 1300 block of Sargeant Street at South Carey Street in southwest Baltimore
The victim, a 24-year-old was rushed to an area hospital by friends, police say. However, the victim was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma and pronounced dead by medical personnel shortly after he arrived.
Then, at around 10 p.m. Saturday, police officers responded to the 600 block of Gertrude Court in southeast Baltimore and found a 37-year-old man who was suffering from gunshot wounds.
The man was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma where he later died.
People in the community were hopeful that Baltimore could defeat the odds, and have a peaceful weekend, but that did not happen.
Along with disappointment, the death-toll rises in Baltimore.
"We knew murder could happen because it's not a problem that we could just fix by ourselves," says community activist Erricka Bridgeford.
People in the community had been pleading that for 72-hours, nobody kill anybody, after the homicide rate surpassed 200 victims.
A group marched through streets where people were murdered, in response to the grim milestone.
"We're keeping their memory alive by coming to the spots in which they were either found or died," says Scott Slater with Marching For Peace.
"We'll never have a strong community if we're killing ourselves," says Desiree Marcano, with Marching for Peace. Her fiance was murdered on the streets of Baltimore.
The Guardian Angels join the call for peace, by covering a church wall with the names of those murdered this year.
"You don't have enough politicians, police guardian angels or Baltimore city ceasefire activists that are going to stop the violence. The citizens of Baltimore have to say: we've had enough," says Marcus Dent, Regional Director, Guardian Angels Baltimore.
The Guardian Angels tell WJZ it was important for them to share these names so that the public knows: these are not just numbers, they're real people.
A ceasefire that could not reach its goal, in a city, where the body count keeps rising.
No one was arrested in either of the two shootings. There is no word yet if there will be another attempt to have "Cease Fire."
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