February Sees 2024’s First Jump in Non-Fatal Shootings

By Racquel Bazos [former] - March 5, 2024
Data | Featured | Homicides | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Baltimore Witness data compiled from Baltimore Police Department (BPD) press releases showed February continued the city’s downward trend in homicides, but non-fatal shootings rose.

Since December 2023, monthly homicide rates in Baltimore have crept downward — from 17 in December, 16 in January and now 13 in February. January’s dip in non-fatal shootings, however, appears to have been an anomaly, as February’s 38 shootings present a 40 per cent increase over last month.

The three districts without reported homicides in January all had homicides in February. The Southeast District had one homicide, the Western District had two and the Northeast District had three.

One of the Western District’s two homicides this month was that of 55-year-old Melvin White, who was initially reported to have overdosed. The Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled his death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

The Northern and Eastern districts reported zero homicides in February, representing a decline by one and three cases over January’s numbers. 

All other police districts reported two or less homicides in February. The Southern, Northwest and Southwest districts all had two homicides. The Central District had only one reported homicide: that of 20-year-old Amari Williams, who died from his injuries two days after being shot on the 200 block of Marion Street.

The Central District, which led the city in non-fatal shootings last month, continued its trend in February. Not only did the Central District have the most non-fatal shootings this month at nine, it also had the greatest month-over-month increase in shootings at five.

Baltimore Witness counts the Feb. 13 incident that injured four as four discrete shootings, meaning it accounts for nearly half of this month’s number. 

Tied for second in non-fatal shootings are the Northwest District and the Western District with five each — both increasing their monthly number of incidents by two compared to January. 

The Northern and Southeast districts also had the same number of February non-fatal shootings with four each, representing a month-over-month increase of three and two shootings respectively. One of the incidents in the Northern District involved a woman shooting her ex-boyfriend when he broke into her house and was trying to get into her locked bedroom. 

The Southern and Northeast districts were the only two districts which saw slight reductions in non-fatal shootings in February. The Southern District had a single reported shooting in February, down from two in January; the Northeast District had two reported shootings in February, down from three in January.

One of those two incidents was the Feb. 2 Northeast District domestically motivated shooting that led to the arrest of Antawn Venable later in the month.

The Eastern and Southwest districts had flat shooting rates between January and February, both resting at three incidents per month. Included in that flat rate was the Eastern District shooting that injured a 72-year-old man on the 2900 block of Erdman Avenue.