RODGERS FORGE, Md. — Dozens of Rodgers Forge neighbors showed togetherness on Tuesday evening at a community walk, roughly a week and a half after a man was shot in that Baltimore County neighborhood.
The group looped around the neighborhood near the same area where someone shot 50-year-old Mark McKenzie; in a news release, police said the shooting was part of an attempted robbery.
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"The community needs to galvanize and show unity in this really awful, awful circumstance here," said Peter Dimitriades, a longtime Rodgers Forge neighbor.
An outpouring of support has come from the violence, not just in the well-attended walk but from a GoFundMe for the McKenzie family, which, as of Tuesday, has raised north of $120,000.
"You've spoken tonight by just the number of people who are here. You're saying you care," said Robert McCullough, chief of the Baltimore County Police Department, as he addressed the neighbors.
"Everyone is taking this as serious as it can possibly be taken," said Mike Ertel, a Baltimore County Councilmember representing the area. "There are no resources that aren't being deployed to find the people that have done this. And we will survive as a community."
Folks in Rodgers Forge told WMAR they don't want what happened this month to define their community. They said McKenzie has a great family, and they hoped and prayed for his quick return to health.
Metro Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,000 reward for information in the case.
As of Tuesday, police did not have anyone in custody, but Chief McCullough told the crowd he hoped for a prompt conclusion.
"The investigation is ongoing, and we’re committed to bringing this thing to a positive close," McCullough said. "We’re working this investigation, and our detectives are doing their very best, and I hope that very soon we’ll be able to bring this investigation to a close."
