Baltimore has been struggling with youth violence for years and seems to be getting worse. The situation has gotten soo bad that the Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott has announced plans to enforce a spring and summer curfew for minors throughout Baltimore to try and curb violent crime.
This past Sunday evening, the Baltimore police department confirmed that a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were non-fatally shot after a group of over 200 minors gathered in the downtown district ending up in a brawl. The police responded to the fight and began to arrest those engaged in the altercations when the shooting occurred. After this event, Baltimore Mayor Scott decided that a 9pm curfew for those under 15-years-old and a 10pm curfew for those under the age of 18 would be instituted throughout the city “as we move into the latter spring and summer months.”
“We are going to have summer camp. We are going to do the great things we do in recreation and parks but we are also going to put a sense of accountability on families. We want our young kids to come out to the Inner Harbor and enjoy it in a safe way,” the Mayor said.
According to the Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison, when the shooting occurred there were more than two dozen officers in the area responding to the fight, arguing that despite the police presence the incident “speaks to a larger issue, that young people have easy access to these firearms and would use them indiscriminately.”
In 2023, the city of Baltimore has seen 23 minors hurt in shootings and 5 minors were unfortunately killed.
In 2022, 22 minors were shot and killed and at this rate Baltimore is experiencing a more than 60% increase in shootings amongst minors.
“It doesn’t surprise nor affect me because it happens all the time,” said resident Brandon Hart in an interview with CBS News after a minor was shot near his home. “I think it just needs to be stricter gun laws and I think we as parents just need to raise our kids better.”