2023 Baltimore shooting
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Brooklyn, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
12:35 a.m. (EDT)
| 2023 Baltimore shooting | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Brooklyn Homes townhouses, pictured in 2022 | |
| Location | 39°13′49″N 76°36′02″W / 39.2302°N 76.6005°W Brooklyn, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Date | July 2, 2023 12:35 a.m. (EDT) |
Attack type | Mass shooting |
| Weapons | Glock |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Injured | 28 |
| Convicted | Aaron Brown Tristan Brian Jackson 3 unnamed minors |
On July 2, 2023, a mass shooting occurred in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States, during a Brooklyn Day celebration. Two people were killed and 28 were injured according to police.[1][2] It is the largest shooting incident in the city's history.[3]
The incident occurred in the Brooklyn Homes area located in the southern part of Baltimore at around 12:35 a.m. EDT.[4] According to charging documents obtained by the media, initial gunshots from one weapon led to other people in the area to begin shooting over a span of 10 minutes.[5] The gathering was organized for an event called "Brooklyn Day", an annual event that was attended by over 700 partygoers,[6] located at a housing development in the 800 block of Gretna Court.[3] Multiple videos of the event appeared on social media sites such as Instagram, including one that showed partygoers evacuating after the shooting and another showing a 17-year-old man pulling a gun out of a backpack[7][8] who was later arrested and charged with three counts of weapons-related violations, reckless endangerment,[9][10] and two charges of inciting a riot.[11] Police officers rushed to the scene after numerous 9-1-1 calls, where they found multiple gunshot victims. Multiple sources reported that about 20 to 30 gunshots were fired.[12]
Residents told the media that there was no police presence at the event, which officials said was because event organizers did not give the city a three-day notice to provide resources to staff it, unlike previous years.[13] Police radio communications from southern Baltimore indicated that the police were aware of the event, with officers asking the department's Foxtrot helicopter to fly overhead.[14] According to city logs, the Baltimore Police Department began receiving calls about armed persons and noise complaints at 5:30 p.m. EDT.[15] Dispatch audio indicated that police received another call around 9:45 p.m. reporting "hundreds of males and females armed with guns and knives" at the event, and more calls about fighting, loud noise, and potential shooting were received before 11 p.m., which prompted police to fly a helicopter over the event before dismissing the situation.[13][4]
Safe Streets outreach workers were deployed at the event at 9 p.m. and had deescalated five fights, none of which involved weapons,[16] but were not present during the time of the shooting due to workers' shifts ending at 11 p.m. Safe Streets workers also did not inform police of their activities as they are trained not to involve law enforcement in their interventions to maintain community credibility.[17][18]
Victims
According to police reports, two people were killed and an additional 28 sustained injuries. One victim died at the scene and another at a local hospital; they were later identified as Aaliyah Gonzalez and Kylis Fagbemi.[19] Gonzalez had been shot in the head.[20]
Nine victims were transported to the hospital by ambulance, while 20 victims transported themselves to area hospitals. The ages of the victims ranged from 13 to 32, with 15 of the victims being under 18 years old.[21][22] The University of Maryland Medical Center took in 12 victims at its Shock Trauma Center and four were treated at its pediatric emergency department, while MedStar Harbor Hospital treated 19 patients.[23][24]
In November 2023, the families of shooting victims, including those of Fagbemi and Gonzalez, said they were planning to sue the city and state over the incident, seeking a combined $150 million in damages.[25] The families will be represented in the lawsuit by civil rights attorney Billy Murphy Jr.[26]
Aftermath
Vigils were held in the Brooklyn community following the shooting.[27][17] The Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) deployed its Peace Mobile to distribute household items and resources to Brooklyn residents at the Brooklyn Homes community center and through social workers and local charities.[17][28] The Baltimore Police Department had "enhanced deployment" in some areas of Baltimore during July 4 celebrations in the city, including at the Cherry Hill Festival.[29]
Within the year following the shooting, MONSE documented 2,000 interactions with neighborhood residents in the year following the shooting, provided relocation assistance to 23 Brooklyn Homes residents, and referred 19 others to the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office for help. Multiple other residents, including Kylis Fagbemi's mother, moved away from the community, citing trauma from the shooting. The Housing Authority hired private security to patrol the neighborhood and the Baltimore Police Department increased policing in the area following the shooting, which may have contributed to the community seeing the largest decrease in violent crimes year-over-year out of any Baltimore neighborhood.[30] In November 2024, city officials held a press conference to celebrate achieving over a year without a homicide within the Brooklyn neighborhood.[31]
Investigation
Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley confirmed that there were "at least three"[5] people who fired at the scene and that more than three firearms were used in the shooting,[32] with casings from more than a dozen guns being found by investigators at the crime scene,[15] including six fired from a rifle-caliber pistol,[33] although it was unclear if every gun is tied to the mass shooting.[5] The Baltimore Police Department offered a $28,000 reward for information on the suspects.[34]
During its investigation, the Baltimore Police Department had seized the personal belongings of several of the shooting victims while they underwent surgery, despite promises from the department to "minimize or eliminate" the confiscation of crime victims' property. A spokesperson for the department said it would hold the "evidentiary property" until the conclusion of a criminal case, and added that the department had already returned some seized items.[35] Police also threw out substantial amounts of trash from the site of the shooting, which was criticized by forensic experts who claimed that the trash collection would result in the destruction of DNA evidence that could lead to arrests.[36] The police's after-action report justified the removal of trash from the site, saying that the debris was hindering evidence collection.[37]
According to the Baltimore Banner, a 45-foot elm tree blocked the view of the only static camera overlooking the mass shooting site, which likely blocked police from key footage that could have been used to identify shooting suspects. The tree blocking the camera was removed the day after the shooting.[38]
As of April 2025, the investigation into potential perpetrators is still ongoing.[39]
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