Seven students in Baltimore City have been killed in 2023 to date, and another 23 teens have been shot but there has largely been a lack of public comments from elected leaders.
After a 16-year-old boy was shot at a gas station across the street from REACH Partnership school on Wednesday, Mayor Brandon Scott issued a lengthy statement that said he is “deeply disturbed” by the trend of young people using guns to settle conflicts.
Thursday, Gov. Wes Moore was on CNN discussion national politics and crime prevention. During the interview, he touted a violent crime strategy that’s working in Maryland.
“When I think about the state of Maryland, we know at the that our impact and the work that we're doing right now both with the federal government and local government to reduce violence in the state of Maryland that it is working. We plan on continuing to double down on that investment,” Moore said.
The governor didn’t take any questions during two public events in Baltimore City, but Carter Elliot, Moore’s press secretary, said Gov. Moore “has made it clear, keeping Marylanders safe is one of his chief priorities as Governor.”
“That’s why he’s proposed $122 million in aid to local police departments, including $17.5 million dedicated to Baltimore City, and expansion of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Public Defender,” Elliott said via email. “Maryland has a Governor now that is dedicated to tackling this important issue head on, which is shown by his major investments in the future of Baltimore and the state.”
That budget is currently being debated in Annapolis during the 2023 General Assembly.
Meanwhile, Councilman Robert Stokes, the chairman of the Education, Workforce and Youth Committee in Baltimore City, said the juvenile crime issue is rooted in the home.
“The whole family has to be involved. I have brought up the hearings on youth violence and school violence,” Stokes said. “Once they leave school and leave school grounds, we don’t have much control.”