BALTIMORE — At least 8 people were killed in Baltimore over Memorial Day weekend including three men who were killed in what the police commissioner said may have been a “running gun battle.”
One of those men was 20-year-old Isaiah Willis.
"I’d be lying to you if I said I am not in pain right now," said Willis' mother Barbara Fitch-Henderson. "My baby is not coming home."
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott condemned the shootings Monday in a statement saying, “The gun violence witnessed this weekend shows us that there are cowards among us who are willing to take a life, no matter how small or insignificant the beef,” Scott said. “We must hold them accountable and rid our streets of the weapons they use to take our daughters and sons away from us.”
On Tuesday the mayor met with Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and Deputy Commissioner of Operations Sheree Briscoe on to discuss the weekend violence and strategies moving forward to get guns off the streets.
The Mayor's office released this statement regarding the meeting.
"Mayor Scott speaks with Commissioner Harrison daily about violence in Baltimore. Yesterday’s meeting examined recent incidents, a targeted summer deployment strategy, and alignment on a public safety approach and goals. Despite increases in gun arrests and clearance rates, Mayor Scott is not satisfied. The Mayor and Commissioner Harrison will continue this ongoing dialogue in an effort to save lives in Baltimore and effectively leverage partnerships across other agencies.”
As of March, the Baltimore City Police Department has made use of the Gun Trafficking Intelligence Platform.
As we've reported, the program is designed to lead police directly to the criminals selling illegal guns. The program compiles information already available to police like gun trace data, ballistics and shot spotter technology.
