BALTIMORE — As 2024 comes to a close, Baltimore City residents, community leaders, and law enforcement officials are coming together to honor the nearly 200 lives lost to homicide this year.
The second annual Prayer Walk, held on Monday night, brought together families, community members, and police officers to remember those lost, raise awareness about the ongoing violence, and pledge to put a stop to it.
The walk, which began at Saint Joseph’s Monastery Parish and ended at My Brother’s Keeper, was a somber occasion filled with candles, prayers, and poignant reflections.
This year’s event underscored the importance of remembering the individuals behind the statistics of homicide, making it clear that each life lost represents a family’s grief and a community’s heartache.
"I lost my grandson to gun violence, and I just can’t do it anymore," said one family member who tragically lost her loved ones to senseless violence. Her words echoed the pain and devastation shared by many at the vigil.
The community gathered in solidarity, not only to mourn the dead but also to ensure that their names were not forgotten. Every victim was remembered, and their names were read aloud as participants took part in the prayer walk, pausing at various locations to reflect, pray, and light candles.
Father Mike Murphy of Saint Joseph’s Monastery Parish spoke to the crowd about the sacredness of life, noting the ripple effect of violence on everyone it touches, from the victims to the perpetrators and their families.
“This is important because life is sacred. Every life is sacred—from those who are doing the violence to those who are affected by it. We have to find a better way to lift each other up, love each other, and seek the way of peace,” Father Murphy said.
The call for peace and action was also echoed by Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley, who emphasized that while the homicide rate in 2024 has been lower than in previous years, the loss of life still has a profound impact on families and communities.
“No matter how young or how old the individual is, they’re not going to be there anymore. They’re not at the table; they’re not going to be around for New Year’s,” Commissioner Worley said.
Worley acknowledged the progress made in 2024, including an increase in the clearance rate for homicides—meaning more cases have been solved, and more perpetrators have been brought to justice. However, he stressed that the battle against violence is far from over.
“It’s a tragedy because most of the names we read tonight were young Black men under the age of 30, whose lives were cut short,” Worley said. “We’re going to keep fighting every day to break this cycle of violence.”
For Roxanne Fuentes, the program director for the Homicide Survivor Advocacy Project at Roberta’s House, keeping the memory of those lost alive is essential to healing.
“We have to keep their names present,” Fuentes said. “We don’t want them to just be a statistic. Everyone’s loss is an individual loss, and every person who has been lost deserves the respect, the moment, and the time to be remembered.”
In the year ahead, there is hope that fewer names will be added to the list of homicide victims.