Safety Concerns Remain In Baltimore In Wake Of Assaults; Gov. Hogan Speaks
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- The heart of Baltimore's tourism industry continues to make headlines but for all of the wrong reasons.
It's a story WJZ first broke earlier in the week. For numerous times in just days, teens assaulted citizens at the Inner Harbor.
Police say they typically deploy more than a dozen officers at the Inner Harbor on a daily basis but on Thursday, their presence was obvious.
A series of vicious assaults downtown have become a disturbing trend.
"You have to ask if they cannot provide basic public safety at the Inner Harbor, where can they?" said city resident Kevin Stocklin.
"I'm pissed because I just don't understand," said Kia Martin, whose daughter was attacked at the Inner Harbor.
With staples in her head and a broken arm, Martin's daughter was one of the latest victims at the Inner Harbor.
In a story only told to WJZ, she and her friends were terrorized on Halloween.
"She was stomped, she was kicked, she was punched, she was hit in the head with a bat," Martin said.
Police believe it was the same pack of teens that struck several times throughout the City Halloween night, and just days before, left an 18-year-old hospitalized and beat down a family from New Jersey.
"It was just complete chaos," a family member said.
"It's very concerning and it's not just concerning when it happens in those neighborhoods," Gov. Larry Hogan said. "We've got issues all over the city that we're trying to provide whatever assistance we can to city to stop this problem."
Assaults by groups of juveniles are even becoming a common theme in the Federal Hill area.
"There was a friend of ours who was pushing her baby in a stroller and got attacked, so nothing is really out of bounds," Stocklin said. "This is important to us. We are trying to raise a family in Baltimore. The city needs to get a hold on this, start taking it more seriously and show this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated. The mayor, attorney general - everyone needs to meet and get a plan that works."
Anyone with information or potential video of the attacks is urged to call Baltimore City police immediately.
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