One high school student is dead and four others are injured after a shooting at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center on Wednesday.
Police said the five boys are students at Edmondson Westside High School, located across the street from the shopping center.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said two shooters fired at the students and fled the scene. Police do not have a description of the shooters, The Washington Post reported.
The victims include a 16-year-old, who died from his injuries after being taken to the Shock Trauma Center. Two 17-year-olds and two 18-year-olds were also shot, with one also taken to Shock Trauma and the three others taken to Sinai Hospital, The Baltimore Sun reported.
The students were in front of a Popeyes and Rita’s Italian Ice at the shopping center during their lunch break from school when the shooters fired at them, WJZ reported.
The shooting occurred around 11:18 a.m., WBAL reported.
The high school was placed on temporary lockdown after the shooting, but it dismissed students at the regular time of 2:50 p.m., WMAR reported.
“Today, we learned five students were injured after being shot in a shopping center across the street from Edmondson Westside High School,” Baltimore City Public Schools said in a statement on Twitter. “Sadly, one of the students has passed away. Our campus remains safe. The school is in lockdown status while the police investigation occurs.”
School officials added that the families of the five victims have been notified.
Harrison said detectives do not believe the shooting is tied to any school activities, Fox 45 reported.
“This is the kind of thing that happens when you have derelict ownership that disinvests. Businesses that are not connected and don’t really care about the community,” Mayor Brandon Scott said at a news conference, The Baltimore Sun reported.
“I’m currently on the scene of the incredibly heartbreaking act of violence against students from Edmondson-Westside School at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center,” said Baltimore City Councilman Kristerfer Burnett, whose district includes Edmondson Village, in a tweet. “My prayers are with the families, friends, and staff at the school during this incredibly difficult time.”
Baltimore Sun reporter Lee Sanderlin tweeted that Burnett got into an argument with several community members. The altercation include a shoving match between Burnett and former Republican city council candidate Kenny Ebron, according to Sanderlin.
The shopping center incident was Baltimore’s third shooting of the morning and the second to involve multiple gunshot victims, The Baltimore Banner reported.
The shootings occurred on the same day that Baltimore City will hold a vigil for lives lost in 2022. The vigil will be livestreamed from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday on the Facebook pages for the mayor and Charm TV Baltimore.
Individuals with information about the shooting should call police at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7LOCKUP.
