Two people fatally shot at Baltimore block party with 28 wounded

A mass shooting at a block party in Baltimore early Sunday morning has left two people dead and 28 injured.

“Just after 12:30 am this morning, we received calls of a mass shooting,” said Baltimore Police Acting Commissioner Richard Worley in a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

The injured victims were ages 13 - 32, with 15 of the victims being under the age of 18.

Aaliyah Gonzales, an 18-year-old woman, was pronounced dead at the scene, and Kylis Fagbemi, a 20-year-old man, died later in hospital.

Commissioner Worley also confirmed nine of the injured victims remained in nearby local hospitals.

“Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the families, friends, this community and the city as a whole," he said.

Assistance from state and federal partners is being used to help track down the suspected shooters.

“All we know right now is that we had multiple shooters open fire on a large crowd,” said the commissioner.

“We don't know if they were targeted or if they were just shooting indiscriminately down the street.”

Mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott, referred to the shooting as 'a wreckless, cowardly act of violence, that has taken two lives and altered many, many more'.

“This tragic incident is another glaring unfortunate example of the deep issues of violence in Baltimore, in Maryland, and in this country, particularly gun violence and the access to illegal guns,” said the mayor.

The Baltimore Police Department captured 1,345 illegal guns in the first six months of this year.

"We need accountability at every level,” said Mayor Scott.

“We have a responsibility that goes beyond ourselves.”

The mayor also made clear that he was determined to find the perpetrators of this act.

“We will not stop until we find you, and we will find you. Until then, I hope with every single breath that you take, you think about the lives that you took," he added.

Wes Moore, Governor of Maryland, also released a statement on Twitter saying the state will “continue to do everything we can to prevent senseless acts of violence like the one we saw last night.”

Back in May, Moore signed the Gun Safety Act of 2023, which prohibits a person from carrying a gun in certain locations.

“The fact that these horrific shootings continue to take place is abominable," Moore said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

Topics: News, Gun Crime, Politics

Velentina Boulter

Velentina is a freelance journalist for LADbible who is currently studying journalism at The University of Melbourne. When she's not typing away at her laptop, she can usually be found overanalysing movies or making terrible jokes.