Man fatally shot outside Royal Farms Arena
Second shooting victim reported in West Baltimore
Two men were killed in separate, brazen daytime shootings Wednesday afternoon, including one outside of Royal Farms Arena in the heart of downtown Baltimore, police said.
A citizen notified a bike officer of a shooting at 12:35 p.m. in the 200 block of Baltimore Street, police spokesman detective Jeremy Silbert said. That victim was taken to a local hospital and later was pronounced dead.
Police reported a second shooting hours later, just before 4 p.m., in the 2800 block of Edmondson Avenue in West Baltimore. Responding officers initially were unable to locate a victim and learned that he was taken to a local hospital. The man was later pronounced dead, police said.
Police have not identified either victim. At the downtown shooting scene, evidence markers were placed around a bus stop near Howard and Baltimore streets.
Nearby, a table of Ravens football merchandise was left behind. One man who declined to give his name tried to call a friend who he said worked at the table every day.
Carolyn Overby, 55, of West Baltimore, said she was downtown to run some errands but was hurrying back to her parked car after passing the shooting scene. “It’s just sickening,” she said.
She was among several people who went by the normally bustling intersection locked by yellow police tape. Police blocked off the intersection for several hours as crime scene technicians and detectives took notes. A nearby light rail stop continued to operate.
Overby, who said she’s lived in Baltimore her entire life, said she believes the violence is worse than it has ever been. Wednesday’s homicides mark the 14th and 15th this year. There were 13 at this time last year, which ended with 348 homicides.
Overby said her neighborhood is a quiet residential area, but the shooting in the middle of downtown at lunch time shows violence can happen anywhere in the city.
“It doesn’t matter where you live,” she said. “I fear for everybody.”