BALTIMORE, MD (Tuesday, March 2, 2021) — Mayor Brandon M. Scott issued the following statement on recent violence in Baltimore: 

I am deeply frustrated by the amount of young people who have been victims of violence in our city, especially in recent days. We have seen a 10-year-old shot in the chest, a 12-year-old shot in the arm, and a  17-year-old shot in a public intersection. There is nothing harder than talking to a parent whose child has become a victim of violence. My heart goes out to all of the young people, parents and loved ones impacted. They have my commitment to work diligently to change this reality in our city.

Today, I called a meeting with executive leadership in the Baltimore Police Department to identify special initiatives targeted at quelling the increase in shootings we have recently seen. While many of these shootings were nonfatal, the sheer amount of violence is simply unacceptable.

This again shows the amount of work we need to do to reduce the number of illegal guns that are on the streets of Baltimore. It also illustrates how—as a city and community—we have to begin to change the culture of how we resolve conflict.

We will not be complacent in the face of violence. I have set the expectation that everyone must act with complete focus and dedication to making Baltimore a safer city.