Mother of 3 killed in her Baltimore home
Shooting surprises neighbors; reward is offered for tips
When Rashard Martin walked outside his Southwest Baltimore house Wednesday morning and saw yellow crime tape a few doors down, his knees buckled and his face twisted with grief.
“[Expletive] man, that was my homegirl,” he said.
Baltimore police responded to reports of a shooting late Tuesday in the 700 block of Linnard Street, where officers found Sophia Wilks, 40, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, officials said. She was transported to the hospital and later pronounced dead.
Wilks lived with her three young children, neighbors said. Police declined to confirm whether the children were home when the shooting unfolded, but Martin’s girlfriend told him she heard a girl screaming soon after gunshots rang out.
The Tuesday night homicide came hours after Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott delivered his State of the City address that focused largely on ongoing efforts to curb rampant gun violence.
Last weekend alone, the city had three homicides, six nonfatal shootings and 44 robberies, according to police.
“Amid these brazen acts, the BPD continues to do its job by aggressively and relentlessly pursuing these violent offenders,” police officials said in a statement Monday.
City and state officials announced a $16,000 reward through Metro Crime Stoppers for tips leading to an arrest and charges in the shooting that left Wilks dead.
On Wednesday morning, homicide detectives were canvassing the neighborhood where she was killed. Two uniformed officers parked their squad car outside the brick rowhouse, keeping watch until someone could come board up the empty building.
The front door was ajar with lights on inside. A streamer of yellow crime tape remained draped across the chain link fence out front. The small yard contained a rubber ball and a discarded juice box. The porch furniture was neatly arranged, with a plastic table supporting a potted plant and watering can.
Martin said his girlfriend woke him up after the shooting around 11:30 p.m., but he went back to sleep without thinking much of it because gunshots are a relatively common occurrence in the neighborhood, which extends roughly between Gwynns Falls Park and Edmondson Avenue.
Then the next morning, he realized his friend had been killed.
“Who would do that to her?” he said. “She just stays to herself in the house. … She’s so down-to-earth.”
He said Wilks was a devoted single mom who spent most of her time with her kids.
“I had just seen her the day before yesterday,” he said, shaking his head. He said they walked down the block together, and she commented about how he had recently gotten his hair done.
Another neighbor said Wilks and her children — two daughters and a son — were well-known in the community, especially at nearby Mary E. Rodman Elementary School. Wilks would often walk her kids to school, arrange playdates for them and attend meetings with teachers and administrators, the woman said. She asked to remain anonymous to protect her safety.
“She took great care of her kids,” the woman said. “She was a good mom, a very good mom. I can say that much.”
She wondered aloud what would happen to the children.
Homicide detectives are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact them at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-688-7Lockup.