Fatal Pigtown shooting brings city count to 20 in 80 hours (Baltimore)

[Rosa Luxemburg]

Source: Baltimore

An infant child was found next to her dying mother just before dawn Tuesday after police say a man broke into a Pigtown home, killed a young couple and shot two others — a grisly scene that brought to 20 the number of people shot in the city in a span of 80 hours.

Police said they had charged 35-year-old Melville Mason, who they said was caught trying to escape the home. The arrest came as officials sought to address concerns about spiking crime amid a violent summer and a recent outburst of street robberies throughout the city.
"The biggest fear is the threat of retaliation, and that's what we need to get in front of," Deputy Commissioner Dean Palmere said at an afternoon news conference at police headquarters.

Officials said they would pull officers from administrative roles to bolster patrol ranks, and announced arrests in other cases — including a fatal stabbing of a teen after the Ravens' Super Bowl victory parade.

Murders and non-fatal shootings both remain higher than at this time last year by double-digit percentages, and the city is in danger of reversing six consecutive years of declines in non-fatal shootings.


Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-pigtown-shooting-20130820,0,7475756.story#ixzz2cZVQJX1s

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-pigtown-shooting-20130820,0,7475756.story

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What the hell is going on in Baltimore? This is out of control!

[gopiscrap]

1. Wow this grieves my heart

I feel so bad for the folks who live there.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. A dying city needs external help

the city operates on a shoe string

[gopiscrap]

4. Yeah I agree

and the interesting thing is I have been in Baltimore 6 times and each time I loved it!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. Great city but it is a shame to let it rot

schools are crumbling, poor academic performance linked with extreme poverty, high unemployment. Boarded up burnt out houses, gangs and drug war. The mayor of Baltimore is trying very hard but she needs assistance. She can't do it on her own.

[heaven05]

7. sounds

like a microcosm of amerika.

[MADem]

3. DAMN--Bawl-more....or Beirut? WTF?

I am gonna give this a rec and a kick for visibility.

This is a problem.

[olegramps]

6. You reap what you sow.

What is happening in our nation is the direct result of the policy of greed that has been hailed by the so-called Conservatives as a virtue. The loss of millions of jobs that were outsourced to reward CEO's and their cronies with millions is the root cause of poverty that breeds crime.

What is taking place is what has been observed for centuries dating from the study of government by Aristotle in his work "Politics". His survey of the existing political systems of his time, which included virtually every form of government that has been known, revealed that a thriving middle class was essential for the maintenance of a democratic form of government. As wealth is concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer resulting in a Oligarchy the nation will be put on a course to eventual revolution when the masses have no other course of action except to rise up and seize the reins of power. Hopefully the working class people will come to their senses and realize that they are contributing to their own destruction before they are totally reduced to abject poverty and ruination.

At present I find little hope that the course of events will be change in the near future. One of the most important ingredients for the maintenance of a democracy is the Fourth Establishment. Rather than being a source of objective information it has become the voice of the oligarchs. It has lost its objectivity and has been rendered mute to any objections to the insatiable greed for money and power of the oligarchs.

A major contributor to the present course of events is the destruction of the Organized Labor in which the workers swallowed the propaganda that unions were unnecessary and only robbed the workers of their portion of the wages. The so-called Right-to-Work laws were embraced by working class resulting in the destruction of unions resulting in the workers being rewarded with their jobs outsourced, pensions destroyed and their medical benefits lost. It must be realized that Corporations are without any conscience and are determined to maximize profits. The unions were the conscience they lacked and checked their greed and demanded fair treatment. Unfortunately, the workers have brought on the own destruction.

[heaven05]

8. +10000

[Delphinus]

9. olegramps,

I think this is the first post I have ever read by you and I am blown away by your insightful and truthful answer.

Please, continue to speak thoughtfully and eloquently. And may ears hear and comprehend what you write.