BALTIMORE — Some come to Federal Hill Park to walk their dogs, while others come to take in the breathtaking views, but on Monday night at 7:30, a pair of men came to Warren Street bordering the park for a carjacking.
"It's barely even dark yet so that's really scary to hear," said Nazira Buxamusa who works around the corner from where the crime unfolded.
Police say this time a 26-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the neck before handing over the keys to his grey Ford Fusion.
"I can't say I'm surprised, because you hear about stuff all the time around here," added Tara Gallo who lives nearby.
Back in January, three suspects stole a woman's car at gunpoint in Federal Hill a matter of seconds after Michael Hoff had spotted them outside his home.
“Ten seconds later I here this blood curdling scream from inside my house,” Hoff told us at the time. “Quite frankly because there were two guys and a girl I thought initially it might be these kids rough housing and having fun but something told me this scream wasn’t a normal scream.”
As Baltimore struggles with murders and fatal shootings, it appears to be confronting a rise in carjackings across the city.
"Last week, we learned that there is a 30 percent spike in carjackings with 400 already this year," Mayoral Candidate Thiru Vignarajah told reporters during a call for aerial surveillance hours before the incident.
It adds to a violent picture of the city where every neighborhood is impacted.
"I can tell you that people are not coming to Baltimore, people are leaving Baltimore and the good people of Baltimore deserve better," said former City Councilwoman Rikki Spector.
As they rethink their safety in what many have long viewed as some of the city's safest places to live.
"I think it's unassuming and people are maybe a little... I don't know... not expecting anything to happen around here,” said Gallo, “and you kind of just go about your night and go to your house or car, but it's quiet."
