Mother of children injured in shooting, car crash dies
Fatality is 2nd one connected with event in West Baltimore
The mother of two children injured Saturday in a shooting and subsequent car crash in West Baltimore’s Upton neighborhood has died, police said Tuesday, bringing the total deaths stemming from the incident to two.
Maya Morton, 23, was in a vehicle with her two children waiting for a carryout order when gunfire erupted, police said in a video statement. She tried to drive away but was struck by at least one bullet, which led her to crash the vehicle.
Her two sons, ages 1 and 3, were injured in the crash. Police said they remain hospitalized in critical condition after saying previously that they suffered head trauma and lacerations.
Another shooting victim, Gerald Fowlkes, died from his injuries. A third was shot in the arm and released from the hospital.
The video released by police included footage of suspects that the police want help identifying, including photographs from what appears to be surveillance footage from a nearby establishment.
Police said the initial shooting took place around 6:40 p.m. on Saturday in the 1700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, near the Upton Metro station and the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street. That shooting killed Fowlkes, 43, and injured a 65-year-old man.
After that initial burst of gunfire, police said Tuesday, a group of people left a nearby store “armed with handguns.” Police said the group returned gunfire.
Photos appear to show about six or seven people leaving the store and at least two people pointing a weapon from the sidewalk.
It’s not clear who police believe shot Morton. Authorities said Fowlkes was not in a vehicle when he was fatally shot
They are asking anyone with information to contact Homicide Unit detectives at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
Police Commissioner Michael Harrison on Saturday urged witnesses to help investigators solve the case, even anonymously, and noted there were several people who were in the area at the time of the shooting.
“We are here yet again with another mass casualty incident in our city,” Harrison said. “Our prayers are with [the] victims, but we need people to come forward and help us help you.”
Tavon Johnson said Sunday he had just walked out of a store along Pennsylvania Avenue when gunfire broke out and sent people running for safety. He said gunfire can be numbing, but not when it involves children.
“I feel bad about the babies,” he said. “I hope they survive.”
Johnson spoke from Laurens Street, where a fresh bouquet of balloons was tied to the pole Morton crashed into. Across the street, a man tied “get well soon” balloons with rainbows and animals to a fence behind the pole.