Baltimore Continues Surge In Shootings; Resident Says 'There Is No Hope'
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore has seen a surge in murders this month with 33 people killed in the past 30 days and a number of brazen shootings.
City leaders are continuing a program they began late last year to saturate high-crime areas with resources. In Penn North, where riots scarred the neighborhood three years ago this week, Baltimore agencies have picked up trash and boarded up vacant houses.
Mayor Catherine Pugh has also expressed concern about corner stores being a magnet for crime and has called for closer inspections and earlier closing hours.
Taeshawn, who declined to give his last name, told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren he's skeptical whether that will stop the bloodshed.
"There is no hope," he said.
He spoke about the cycle of violence that never seems to end.
There has also been gang warfare driving up the violence in West Baltimore, but both murders and non-fatal shootings remain down as compared to this time last year.
In Southeast Baltimore, Stephanie Woodyard is still recovering after being shot in the head during a carjacking early Sunday morning.
RELATED: Police: Woman Shot In Head Before Car Is Stolen In Highlandtown
The man and woman behind the crime remain at large.
Woodyard believes the woman who attacked her was her last customer of the night at Filippo's Pizza on Conkling Street near Eastern Avenue in Highlandtown.
"They could shoot me in the head and walk away like it's nothing," Woodyard said as she showed Hellgren her scar. "I got lucky. I walked away with my life. The next person might not."
She said the shooting has left her motivated to become a police officer, but she has to deal with her recovery and a shattered eardrum first.
Woodyard told WJZ she has nightmares about the incident.
"Trying to walk off my block sent me into anxiety," she said. "It's hard to be outside. I look and wonder, 'Is this person going to do this to me.'"
"I want these people to know, you meant to kill me, but I'm not going down without a fight," Woodyard said.
She is a mother of three.
"I would not have been able to see my kids again. The last thing they need to do is see mom in a casket," she said.
Woodyard set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for her medical bills.
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