Murder, Non-Fatal Shootings Both Down in October

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Baltimore Witness data reveals that the citywide homicide rate fell by nearly half in October. There were 12 homicides reported for the month, down from 22 in September.

A quarter of those cases originated in the Western District, while the other nine were scattered throughout the city. In one of the homicides reported in the Western District, Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers found 37-year-old former college basketball player Jamal Barney’s body inside a vacant home.

The Southern, Southwestern and Northeastern districts all had two reported homicides.

The Central District, which led the city in September homicides with five, reported a single homicide in October — another victim found in a vacant home, this time, 46-year-old Christopher Miller.

The Eastern District’s homicide rate similarly fell 75 per cent compared to the previous month by reporting one homicide.

The Northwestern District also saw one homicide, which was up from no homicides last month. The sole victim, 49-year-old Latiesha Lauray, died on Oct. 17.

There were no homicides reported in the Northern and Southeastern districts in October.

Non-fatal shootings went down from 56 in September to 49 in October.

Last month the greatest number of these incidents was in the Southwestern District, but in October the concentration shifted slightly. The Southern District had nine shootings, while the Southwestern District saw nearly half that number at four. In one such case, three teens were shot on the 3700 block of 5th Street.

The Southern District was second with seven non-fatal shootings. This was equal to the number of cases where shooting locations have yet to be determined by BPD, up from four last month. Included in the Western District statistic was ashooting outside of Carver Vocational Technical High School. All five people involved in the shooting have since been arrested.

The Southeastern and Northeastern districts were again tied with five shootings — the same numbers they reported for September. One of the Northeastern District incidents was the Oct. 3 mass shooting at Morgan State University, which injured five. Police arrested a 17-year-old suspect in Washington, D.C., 10 days later. The other suspect remains at large.

Meanwhile, in the Northwestern District, where zero non-fatal shootings occurred last month, investigators have reported four incidents for October.

There were three non-fatal shootings reported in the Central District and two in the Eastern District. For the Central District, this represents a precipitous drop from 11 incidents in September, when it had the greatest monthly increase in non-fatal shootings. However, for the Eastern District, this number is on trend, as last month police reported three of these incidents.

The Northern District reported no non-fatal shootings in October.