An 18-year-old woman and 20-year-old man are dead after a mass shooting in Baltimore, Maryland, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Baltimore Police Department Acting Commissioner Richard Worley told reporters there were a total of 30 victims during a press conference at the scene. Three of the victims wounded are in critical condition. All of the victims were adults.
The deceased female victim was pronounced dead at the scene and the man was declared dead at a local hospital a short time later.
The shooting took place just after 12:30 a.m. at a block party in the Brooklyn Homes area in the southern part of the city, Worley said.
Hundreds of people had gathered in the area for an event called ‘Brooklyn Day,’ a witness said. Another witness told FOX45 News that they heard 20 to 30 shots fired. ‘They just kept going off.’
No arrests were made immediately after the shooting and police asked anyone with information to come forward to assist investigators locate the ‘cowards’ who were responsible for the shooting.
Two people are dead and dozens injured after mass shooting in Baltimore overnight
Police were hunting on Sunday morning for the people involved in the shooting that left an 18-year-old woman and 20-year-old man dead
Nine victims were transported by ambulance and 20 victims walked into area hospitals with injuries from the shooting, Worley said.
‘We located one female adult deceased on the scene and nine additional victims were transported from the location to area hospitals. Additionally, we had 20 other victims walk into hospitals throughout the region,’ he said.
‘Our detectives are currently working an extensive crime scene. The two deceased victims we have are both adults. We have three other victims who are in critical condition. Our hearts and prayers are going out to the families and friends of the victims, as well as the community and our entire city’.
Hours after the shooting, a number of officers remained on the scene, working behind police tape amid densely packed two-story housing blocks. Folding tables and plastic cups were scattered around the scene, apparently left behind when people ran from the gunshots.
Police have called for any eye witnesses or anyone who knows anything to come forward. They have yet to determine a motive for the shooting but said they are reviewing video footage and talking to witnesses to try to identify suspects.
Nine victims were transported by ambulance and 20 victims walked into area hospitals
Debris from the block party gathering that ended in a mass shooting filled the street on Sunday morning
A tow truck operator removes a vehicle with multiple bullet holes. Witnesses said they heard 20 to 30 shots during the shooting
No arrests were made immediately after the shooting and police asked anyone with information to come forward
Mayor of Baltimore Brandon Scott was also at the crime scene Sunday morning.
He said: ‘All of Baltimore is grieving for the lives that were lost here and our hearts are with those who are still recovering. This investigation is ongoing and our homicide detectives will continue to work until we find out what happened here.
‘But what we do know is that this was a recklessly cowardly act that happened here and that has permanently altered many lives and cost two people their lives. And I want those responsible to hear me and hear me very clearly. We will not stop until we find you and we will find you.’
‘Until then, I hope with every single breath that you take that you think about the lives that you took and you think about the lives that you impacted here tonight,’ Scott added.
Acting Commissioner Richard Worley for the Baltimore Police Department said officers had received numerous calls reporting a shooting just after 12.30am
Mayor of Baltimore Brandon Scott said: ‘I want those responsible to hear me and hear me very clearly. We will not stop until we find you and we will find you’
Investigators could be seen combing the area for evidence at the scene of the shooting. Police are still searching for suspects and a motive
A police officer moves a scooter in the area of a mass shooting incident in the Southern District of Baltimore the morning after the incident
Authorities said the crime scene was extensive and that it will take some time for detectives to work it.
‘Treat this as if it were your family,’ Scott said. ‘How you would want people to treat it if you were mourning, if this was your neighborhood, if this was an event in your community that this happened at. We want you to treat it that way because that’s how we have to treat each other as Baltimoreans.’
The shooting comes amid gatherings around the country leading up to the July Fourth holiday.
Elsewhere, a shooting in Kansas left seven people with gunshot wounds and two more victims hospitalized after being trampled as people rushed out of a nightclub early Sunday morning, police there said.
The violence comes as federal prosecutors in Baltimore this week touted their efforts to reduce violent crime in the city. Police have reported nearly 130 homicides and close to 300 shootings so far this year, though that’s down from the same time last year. Authorities have vowed to crack down aggressively on repeat violent offenders.
