As of 11:20am ET. Thursday morning, the wave of violent crime continued in Baltimore with the death of a 21-year old man by gunfire.
The significance of this latest death in Baltimore’s urban war zone, is that total homicides in 2017 have now topped 2016 levels at 319, and there is still one month to go.
Homicides in Baltimore have averaged 29 per month, which could indicate Baltimore is now on track for the deadliest year ever to be recorded. The all-time per-capita record was set back in 2015, with 344 homicides, said Fox News.
Throughout the year, we have pointed out Baltimore’s rapid deterioration into chaos (see: America’s Urban War Zone: Baltimore Doubles Chicago’s Homicide Rate In 2017).
Baltimore is on track to exceed 400 homicides in 2017 for the first time in the city’s history and has more than doubled Chicago’s homicide rate on a per capita basis.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh has called the city’s gun violence “out of control.” Earlier this year she begged the Federal Government for help as 2017 murders soar to a 20-year high.
“I’m calling on all the assistance we can possibly get because I can’t imagine going into our summer months with our crime rate where it is today, what that’s going to look like by the end of the summer,” says Mayor Catherine Pugh.
“Murder is out of control,” says Pugh.
“We are looking for all the help that we can get,” she says.
The most recent flare up to draw national attention was the November execution of Sean Suiter, an 18-year veteran of the force, who was fatally shot while on active duty. Shortly after, we reported on the 4-5 day lockdown of one West Baltimore neighborhood by police was described as ‘Martial Law’.
15 @BaltimorePolice vehicles on Schroeder alone and dozens more on surrounding blocks. All the officers are just sitting in their cars. pic.twitter.com/M9zCCltdzK
— Baltimore BLOC (@BmoreBloc) November 19, 2017
Death and despair in Baltimore comes at no surprise since the city has been run by democratic controlled leadership for over 50-years. As the death toll Skyrockets, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has had enough and said this week that he will be issuing his own crime-fighting strategy, per CBS:WJZ.
Gov. Hogan said no need for the National Guard but ‘will reveal his own plan to stop the violence in Baltimore as soon as next week’. Back in 2015, Hogan declared a state of emergency during the Baltimore riots, where he called in the National guard to restore order in the city.
Developments in the next 30-days for Baltimore will be critical in determining government’s next step in tackling the urban war zone for the 2018 timeframe. As expected, the city is projected to further deteriorate this month and record the most homicides ever. Now it’s Hogan’s turn to offer a crime-fighting plan and what we’ve seen before… He isn’t afraid to use the National Guard.
Baltimore is an urban war zone - it should be treated like one.