Baltimore’s most recent homicide happened right outside one of the city’s newest luxury dwellings in South Baltimore, where residents have recently bemoaned an uptick in violent crime.
Police said this morning a 41-year-old man was fatally shot in the stomach at around 1:15 a.m. overnight in Locust Point. Officers found their victim in the back of the Royal Farms off of Key Highway, located right outside the brand new Anthem House apartments. He was transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died.
Investigators say the victim bought several items inside the Royal Farms before stepping outside, where he was shot.
Det. Donny Moses confirmed in an email that the shooter was a fellow customer. At a press conference today, police said they’re searching for a black male with glasses and a female accomplice. They left in a silver or gray four-door sedan, police said.
“They followed the victim around the side of the Royal Farms,” Police Commissioner Kevin Davis told The Sun at the scene last night. “He announced a robbery, displayed a firearm. The victim resisted the robbery, and the shooter shot and killed our victim.”
Police released footage of the two persons of interest in the shooting:
Friends and co-workers have identified the victim as Alex “Albo” Wroblewski. His employer, The Rowhouse Grille in Federal Hill, released a statement today with his picture: “The Rowhouse family is heartbroken after the loss of our dear friend Alex “Albo” Wroblewski. Albo was beloved here, and all through South Baltimore and for great reason. We love and will miss you, dear friend.”
The murder is Baltimore’s third in as many days, following a rare six-day respite from killings that stretched from last Monday through Sunday afternoon. It’s also the first to occur in the fast-developing area of Locust Point off of Key Highway.
Less than four months ago, Bozzuto opened the Anthem House, a $100 million, 292-unit luxury apartment building with $1,800 studio apartments and bocce courts, located right behind the Royal Farms. It also sits feet away from the Southside Marketplace shopping center, and less than two blocks from the growing McHenry Row complex.
Hundreds of South Baltimore residents participated in a “crime walk” a week ago with Davis, Councilman Eric Costello and others in South Baltimore’s nearby Riverside neighborhood. Police that day announced the creation of a plainclothes “Decoy Unit” targeting juvenile perpetrators, who police say are responsible for a fair share of 2017’s violent crime.
Twenty-six of Baltimore’s 305 homicides this year have occurred in South Baltimore, according to the most recent police data. Murders are up nine percent in the Southern District through Nov. 4, while non-fatal shootings and robberies are up 36 and 19 percent, respectively.
This story has been updated.
