Mayor Fighting Back Against Recent Surge In Violence
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A spike in violence across the city, including three murders in one day. One of the victims was the relative of a prominent city leader. Now police are putting together an action plan to try and fight back.
Meghan McCorkell has more from city leaders.
The mayor says she is committed to stopping this surge in violence.
Three people murdered on Saturday alone, including the nephew of city council president Jack Young.
"As soon as it happens, then the police start coming around constantly, when they should have been doing that at the beginning," said Caroline Wyscarver.
Police continue to patrol West Lanvale Street, where five people were shot last Thursday.
"I don't even sit out here at night because I'm scared whatever might come around the corner," said Michelle Acree.
"Every day you hear people shooting and hurting one another and it's just so sad," said Laversa Jackson.
Now the mayor is vowing to fight back against this recent surge in violence.
"We have to to stay vigilant. I'm not satisfied until every community, every neighborhood, every person in all of our neighborhoods feels safe," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
City police have shifted their schedules to put more officers on the streets in crime hot spots, and homicide investigators are teaming up with the Department of Justice to try and solve more cases.
Clearance rates of homicide cases are at 53.7 percent in 2015 -- up from 47.6 percent over the past four years. But:
"I'm never happy with any numbers. Until we get to 100 percent, I'm not going to be happy with the numbers," said Commissioner Anthony Batts, Baltimore City Police Department.
And with shootings on the rise in the past few days, the mayor isn't pleased, either.
"I'm focused like a laser on trying to make our city safer. We've made a lot of progress and I'm not going to let this setback or any one in the future deter us," the mayor said.
About a dozen members of the Police Executive Research Forum will be in Baltimore reviewing how homicide cases are handled.
Police continue to look for two men seen in surveillance photos.
They are being called "persons of interest" in the West Lanvale shooting that injured five people.
