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After deadly mass shooting, community conversation aims to reduce gun violence

Posted at 6:24 PM, Feb 02, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-02 22:56:28-05

BALTIMORE — The mass shooting that took a mom away from her baby boys, sending them both to the hospital, is still having a chilling effect in the Upton neighborhood.

Community members are talking through how to prevent it from happening again.

The murders of 42-year-old Gerald Fowlkes and a 23-year-old mom Maya Morton still fresh on people’s minds along Pennsylvania Avenue.

“It don’t make no sense. People out here killing people for just for nothing,” said George Cook, an Upton resident.

Maya Morton’s children, a three-year-old and 14-month-old were also badly injured in the accident. One is expected to recover while the other, the family says, they’re still ‘very uncertain about.’

Tuesday, BPD released a video of the men responsible for the deadly shooting with hope that someone could help identify the trio.

The deaths and injuries caused by that shooting, the center of conversation for a community meeting that took place Thursday evening not too far from the crime scene.

“No it ain’t going to work. I don’t think so,” said Cook skeptically.

Kysha Shaw is open to the idea.

“It’s like 50/50. It might work it might not work,” Shaw shared. “If the people come out and make their voices heard something will be resolved.”

The meetings aim was to get organizations to work together with the hope of ending shootings across Baltimore like the one there in Upton.

“That young girl that lost her life. I couldn’t even imagine, can’t even imagine what her kids will go through now knowing that was the last time that they saw their mom,” said Talia Burrell.

Burrell plans to attend not just for her own safety but for others.

“In this neighborhood, my neighbor right here, the one across the street the one that lives on that corner they’re all elderly people. When the spotlight leaves and the police officers aren’t sitting there, What then? What do we have then,” Burrell questioned.

The meeting was scheduled for 6pm on Thursday at the Harlem Park Recreation Center.

Another priority item that was on the agenda was aimed at making people aware of the GoFundMeset up for the family of Maya Morton.

Anyone with information regarding the gunmen seen in the video released by BPD Tuesday is asked to contact police.