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Baltimore Ceasefire Weekend Ends With 2 Dead, 5 Injured

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Baltimore Police say one person has died and six others were injured in multiple shootings since midnight Friday – the beginning of the fifth ceasefire weekend in the city.

The ceasefire ended hours before the city could go an entire weekend without a fatal shooting. Officers found a 27-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper and lower body around 7:35 p.m. in the 2400 block of Wilkens Avenue. He was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The homicide came less than two hours after three people were injured in a shooting in the 900 block of Broadway -- down the street from Johns Hopkins Hospital.

RELATED: Police Investigating Triple Shooting In Baltimore

During the last four ceasefires, a total of three people were killed. This weekend's ceasefire came one year after the event's launch.

"Baltimoreans put in this work all year round, every three months injecting love, injecting hope, injecting action into this city," organizer Erricka Bridgeford said.

Bridgeford believes the message may be starting to sink in, despite what some critics say.

"When this first started some people laughed, they thought it was a crazy idea. People still laughing, some people are still laughing yeah, but it's okay. I think people are entitled to their hopelessness," Bridgeford said.

There have been 169 murders in the city in 2018, about 20 percent less than this time last year.

That includes the murder of 7-year-old Taylor Hayes in July. The second-grader was shot in the back while riding in the backseat of a car. The case remains unsolved.

"Everybody says they are here for Taylor, everybody want something to be done, tell, step up and tell what happened to Taylor," Ebony Ward, Taylor's cousin said.

Baltimore City Police say non-fatal shootings are also down.

Yet shortly after the kickoff of the ceasefire began, a man was shot in the arms and legs in east Baltimore.

RELATED: Organizers Call For Cease-Fire, No Shootings For 72 Hours

Ceasefire organizers said there will come a day when incidents like these will be a thing of the past.

"This city deserves joy and we deserve to celebrate life as much as we want to," Bridgeford said.

Detectives are asking anyone with information to contact them at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7lockup.

To find out more about the ceasefire program, check their website.

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