Homicides and non-fatal shootings both increased across Baltimore City in September, reversing the decline recorded in August.
Baltimore Witness data shows that homicides rose from six in August to 13 in September, a 117 percent increase since the previous month. Of the homicides, there were 14 total victims.
On Sept. 27, Baltimore police reported the death of 31-year-old Virgil Holland Jr., who was previously listed in critical condition after sustaining a gunshot wound to his head the prior evening. West Baltimore police are still in the process of investigating Holland’s murder, which occurred on the 1200 block of W. North Avenue.
Just two weeks prior, a similar shooting occurred in Baltimore’s Central Park Heights neighborhood. Officers responding to reports of a murder on the 3300 block of Spaulding Avenue found Kenneth Spaulding, 34, deceased with an apparent gunshot wound to his head.
Police have yet to make arrests in connection to Holland or Spaulding’s deaths.
Compared to the drastic rise in homicides, non-fatal shootings rose by just 9 percent, with Baltimore Witness recording 26 incidents in August compared to September’s 23. In comparison, the number of non-fatal shooting victims declined from 30 to 27, a 10 percent decrease.
In Baltimore’s Inner Harbor a shooting occurred shortly after midnight near the intersection of East Pratt and Light Streets on Sept. 14, at approximately 12:49 a.m. According to police documents, an 18-year-old male victim was located at the crime scene and transported to an area hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to his arm and expected to survive. Investigations are still ongoing with no arrest yet reported.
On Sept. 24, 10 days after the Inner Harbor incident, an unnamed 39-year-old man drove to North Baltimore’s Woodland Avenue and called police to report he was shot. Investigators responded and found the victim was shot in the face while on the 4000 block of Park Heights Avenue. Police have not arrested an suspects in connection to the shooting.
