Eight wounded when 3 open fire on street

3-year-old girl among the wounded; police suspect motive was retaliation

Baltimore police said eight people — including a 3-year-old girl — were struck by gunfire Saturday evening in a shooting in the 700 block of Preston St.

The incident occurred about 8:30 p.m. Police said three assailants — one armed with a shotgun and the other two with handguns — fled on foot after the attack and were at large late Saturday night.

At a news conference at the scene, Police Commissioner Kevin Davis and Police Department spokesman T.J. Smith said none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

Davis said officers had gathered enough information that he was “very comfortable” in saying Saturday’s attack was in retaliation for a Labor Day shooting that left one person dead. Police have made an arrest in that case, he said.

Police said the three gunmen approached a group of people gathered in front of a home on Preston Street and opened fire. A father and his 3-year-old daughter who were nearby were struck as well.

“The three shooters emerged — one from a dark alley, and two from up the street,” said Davis. “They stopped short of the crowd and began firing.”

Other than the child, the injured included a woman in her 30s, and six men in their 20s and 30s. Police did not identify the victims, and no description was available of the gunmen.

Davis said the shooters “need not to just be in jail, but underneath a jail.”

He and Smith said police were already getting leads from the public to aid the investigation and urged anyone with information to call 410-396-2221.

Police reported that five other people had been shot over the weekend, including an 8-year-old boy who suffered non-lifethreatening injuries when he was shot in the foot in the 600 block of S. Smallwood St. at 6:30 p.m.; and an adult man who walked into a hospital at 7:19 p.m. seeking treatment for a gunshot wound.

Earlier, officials said a 26-year-old man was in “grave” condition after being shot at 1:08 p.m. Saturday in the first block of S. Carey St. And Friday evening about 11:30, officers were called to the 4300 block of Seminole Ave. and found one man, 27, shot in the arm and another, 18, shot in the hand.

Police at the scene of the Preston Street shooting had several blocks taped off, and officers had marked areas on Preston between Greenmount and Homewood avenues were they found shell casings.

Several residents were gathered outside as officers worked the scene.

Charles Pullen, 45, said he was sitting on the steps of a liquor store at Greenmount and Preston, and took cover when he heard the shots.

“It was like they were bouncing off the walls,” Pullen said. “It was like World War II going on.”

A woman who identified herself as Kisha but declined to give her last name was coming home Saturday evening after attending a baby shower. Wearing a pink tutu that was part of the party attire, she said she heard people in her neighborhood had been shot, and was disturbed by the violence.

“There’s always something,” she said.