On Saturday, July 1st, we concluded Gun Violence Awareness Month with a mass shooting at a block party in Baltimore, Maryland, in which 2 adults, an 18 and 20-year-old were murdered, and at least 28 others injured. Of the injured people, 3 are in critical condition. According to NBC News, there was also violence reported in Washington, DC, Chicago, and Wichita, Kansas.
The Baltimore police have not yet found the perpetrators and a motive has not yet been determined. The county's mayor, Brandon Scott released a statement in a Sunday morning news conference saying he believed the shooting to be a "reckless and cowardly act," and reaffirmed that the police remain indignant in a hunt for the shooter.
Baltimore has a history of violence not unlike that of Camden. It is plagued by the drug dealing industry and street violence, as shown in the shooting. They last experienced this level of violence in 2015 with the death of Freddie Gray and continually face the problem of heroin addiction in the city. Baltimore is a mere hour and forty minute car ride away from Camden.
It is believed that about two to three guns were used in the shooting. The guns were not yet identified but can only be assumed as rifles, with the caliber of deaths and injuries in the act. Even if it was a careless act of violence, that does not dismiss the fact that the shooter caused inflicted immense damage. If the perpetrator did not have the ability to carry a weapon like the rifle used, the shooting never would have happened.
Two young adults, one still a teenager, are dead, and many others under the age of 18 are in critical condition. We need to wake up and start to reform our policy regarding assault rifles, so that we prevent other tragedies like this from happening again.
What is supposed to be considered a joyous event with your neighbors, has now been touched by violence. Families are grieving and many more outside Baltimore grieve for them and the lives lost. A block party is a place for fun, not fear.
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