Police report robberies by juveniles on Halloween

Baltimore police said large groups of juveniles committed several robberies on Halloween, taking cellphones and candy from victims. The Police Department received several reports of robberies by juveniles downtown, Federal Hill and Homeland, police spokesman T.J. Smith said Wednesday. In one incident in Federal Hill, police received a report that a juvenile was armed with a bat and a wooden board, Smith said. City Councilman Eric T. Costello, who represents Federal Hill, said in a Facebook post that a group of 10 to15 juveniles committed “at least four sets of robberies / assaults,” in South Baltimore and the Inner Harbor on Halloween. Two people were robbed and assaulted in the 300 block of E. Fort Ave., one person was assaulted in the 800 block of Battery Ave., another at the intersection of Key Highway and Covington Street, and four others were robbed and assaulted behind the Maryland Science Center. “This is despite a very heavy presence from BPD since it was Halloween,” Costello said in the post. Smith said another incident was reported on Springlake Way in Homeland, where a group of juveniles assaulted two other juveniles and took their candy. When another person tried to intervene, Smith said the suspects used what appeared to be a handgun and “possibly pistolwhipped the victim.” A large group of teens robbed another group of juveniles on Calvert Street downtown around 3 p.m., Smith said. He said no serious injuries were reported. Three juveniles were arrested. No major incidents were reported in Fells Point where some businesses closed early on Halloween after violence interrupted festivities in recent years. commencement, the university announced Wednesday. The Baltimore Democrat will also receive an honorary doctorate of public service from the university during the Dec. 19 ceremony at the Xfinity Center on campus. “We are at a pivotal time in our nation and our world, and it is a tremendous honor to address a bright, talented and ambitious graduating class as they enter our workforce and make an impact on the future,” Cummings said in a statement. University President Wallace D. Loh said Cummings is an “outstanding role model” for students in College Park. “Congressman Cummings rose from a humble background, embraced the power of education, and in 35 years of service has never forgotten where he came from,” Loh said in a statement. Cummings began his career in the Maryland House of Delegates and has represented the state’s seventh congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1996. The Baltimore native is now the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. —