HAMPDEN, Md. — Hampden is known as a vibrant and some may even say peaceful neighborhood, but lately the uptick in crime is changing the community.
36th Street is for sure changing, business owners say they're closing their doors earlier and while neighbors aren't going out as late.
So far this year, Hampden experienced at least five shootings, the latest one happened Tuesday night. Officers found a 32-year-old man shot in the chest on West 36th Street.
People are shocked the shooting happened in such a busy open area. Business owners on the street are demanding more police presence. One person who wanted to remain anonymous says she and her employees are in constant fear.
"We put surveillance cameras outside of our establishment. We're talking about getting security outside of our establishment, our establishment doesn't close when it normally would have closed due to the violence and the safety of the employees, you've never heard of that in this neighborhood, so that's shocking," said the business owner.
Carjackings have also been on the rise in the area.
"An employee who’s no longer an employee got carjacked twice. Another employee here was carjacked too and a friend around the corner was at gunpoint and robbed," said the owner.
"It's pretty important for anybody to just kind of have a really good awareness of where they're at, anywhere, if something doesn't feel right like it might not be right. I think it's probably important to like to try to stick around with other people, especially at night," said Hampden resident, Rob Holthause.
Police are still looking for a suspect in Tuesday's shooting on West 36th Street. If anyone has information, reach out to Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7lockup.
