Members Of Catholic Community Conduct Prayer Walk Through Southwest Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As Baltimore and several State and Federal agencies announced new plans to stop violence, some local church groups are stepping in to help, too.
Members of the Catholic community went on a prayer walk Wednesday in southwest Baltimore, an area that has been impacted by crime.
"It gives people who live in the area a sense that people are not forgetting them," Bishop Denis Madden, of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said.
Tamika Walker said that she was shot 10 times one week ago in a quadruple shooting, she survived. However, her son, Milton Carrington, 16, did not.
"It hurt. No child don't deserve to be gunned down like a dog in the street. No child. It was three kids out there, not just my son," Walker said.
As the homicide count rises every few days, officials announced a brand new Baltimore Federal Strike Force. The combination of 18 organizations will aim to take down violent gangs and stop their crime spree.
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"This cancer has swept through the communities of Baltimore snuffing out lives and destroying families," Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said.
This time last year, Baltimore had 199 murders. Right now, there's been at least 232 homicides.
Many groups are trying to find a fix. Two members of congress were in Baltimore for an interfaith town hall Tuesday to talk about the challenges the city is facing.
"It's worth a try," Richard Jones, of Baltimore, said. "I ain't going to say it ain't going to work, but it's worth a try. Ain't nothing worked so far, they are still killing."
Gov. Hogan responded to this new task force to target crime. He said, in part:
"This is exactly the kind of coordinated, all-hands-on-deck approach that we need in order to take back our communities, get the shooters off the streets, and save lives."
