Local
Baltimore officials meet privately after five mass shootings in five weeks
Mayor Brandon Scott convened the police commissioner and the head of the city’s neighborhood-safety office as Baltimore recorded 17 homicides in October through Monday. The mayor’s office said police are directing additional resources toward identifying those responsible for recent gun violence, but released no further details about the meeting.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott brought top public-safety officials to City Hall on Tuesday for a private meeting, as the city faced five mass shootings in five weeks and October’s homicide toll reached 17 through Monday.
Police Commissioner Richard Worley and Stefanie Mavronis, who leads the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, attended the meeting. The mayor’s office said afterward that police were responding to the recent gun violence in several ways, including by assigning additional resources to identify those responsible. It did not provide more specifics about the discussion or planned measures.
The meeting followed a mass shooting Sunday at a BP gas station on Edmondson Avenue near Franklintown Road. Two people were killed and three injured, according to the report.
Some Baltimore residents interviewed Wednesday viewed the gathering as evidence that city leaders were responding. Political analyst John Dedie said convening officials projected urgency and could reassure the public during a spike in violence. He also argued that a closed-door setting can allow leaders to speak candidly.
The private meeting brought key officials together, but residents were not given a public account of what they discussed or what changes might follow. The mayor’s office has said police are directing resources toward identifying suspects in the recent shootings.