Federal Hill murders called “shocking”
by Lori Barrett | June 23, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Posted in baltimore crime
Federal Hill was the site of two murders this weekend, taking its residents by surprise.
William Cole, the councilman who represents the 11th district, including Federal Hill, said: “One murder is shocking. Two is beyond shocking. Given what’s happened in the last 48 hours, I think additional patrols are warranted until whatever element has crept in has gone away.”
Cole continued: “It’s disconcerting we’ve had two [homicides] in two days in what’s generally considered one of the safest parts of the city. We need to eliminate this threat to the neighborhood.”
Cole’s district not only includes Federal Hill and other “safe” neighborhoods, but extends to North Avenue, McCulloh Homes, and Druid Heights (to name but a few) — areas for which no one has been as vocal about crime problems.
Shootings, fatal and nonfatal, occur on a daily or near-daily basis in other, not-so-”safe” Baltimore neighborhoods. Three other murders happened this weekend in West Baltimore, South Baltimore, and Pigtown. They each received a paragraph in the two-page Sun article that focused primarily on reactions from Federal Hill residents.
Or just pick a day, and you will inevitably find a shooting that never makes its way out of the Police Blotter. There are hundreds of them every year, after all. What makes one more important than another?
Does the value of the neighborhood’s real estate determine the importance of a crime in our city? Was Fletcher right? “Wrong zip code. They’re dead where it doesn’t count.”
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June 23rd, 2008 at 6:49 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Yes, he was right. It'd be REALLY interesting to see what would happen if such a thing happened in Roland Park.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:50 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
I think this councilman should find every murder in Baltimore beyond shocking but its obvious that those in power really don't care about those neighborhoods because frankly as long as they are a Democrat they are gonna get those votes regardless.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:01 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Of course the area matters. For one, each and every person looks out for their own neighborhood and backyard first. For two, you don't see a lot of activism and unrest in regards to violence in poor, scary neighborhoods where everyone is apathetic if not looking the other way because they're brainwashed into thinking any other action is "snitching." So Federal Hill, Canton, and the like are surely the areas that we'll hear about and the areas that matter more.
June 24th, 2008 at 2:31 am | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
I'd think the communities you have the most invested in matter the most, not only for the future of the city, but for the future of the city's taxrolls. So as much as it makes it sound horrible, the fact is that Federal Hill should matter more than Pigtown, which should matter less than Roland Park. The reason? Roland Park will pay more future bills than Federal Hill. And Federal Hill taxes will pay more future bills than will Pigtown's. So that's what the city's interests should be. Whoever pays the most in taxes should get the attention of the city. Big deal, life ain't fair.
June 24th, 2008 at 12:39 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
um...yeah. I hate to tell you this, but I bet more taxes are paid into City coffers in Federal Hill than Roland Park. I live by the Senator Theater. While we have plenty of homes in the $400,000 range, I'd bet there are more $400,000-$1,000,000 homes in Federal Hill than Roland Park and Homeland. Yes, we have alot of nice homes that are beautifully landscaped, but the density of those type of homes in Federal Hill make it a pretty wealthy area as well.
I personally cannot understand why homes that are 10-foot wide are worth that much, but it's the access to the Inner Harbor and all the restaurants that are in that area I suppose.
June 24th, 2008 at 3:55 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
It's odd to even think that any area is viewed as "more important" than another. Sad to say though, as politics are played, that's the way our local government approaches the situation. Violence within the inner city is looked upon as something to be controlled but not eliminated, the "put a bandage on it and let it fix itself" approach. Yet as it creeps into the outlaying areas, the Federal Hill's, Mt. Vernon's, and the such, it is addressed with immediate action that is steadfast until the people of those neighborhoods feel safe again. And the purpose of policing is to provide safety and comfort for ALL of our citizens is it not? The worth of your home, car parked in front of your house, or your income at the end of the fiscal year shouldn't be relavent in the way you should feel in where you reside.
Now, I currently reside in Canton so I get to see the spots that some of "Baltimore's Finest" camp out to do their patroling/snacking/sleeping. Not really hard work.
And to directly address an alleged lack of activism or unrest from within those "poor" or "scary" neighborhoods, those people are active to the fullest of there abilities. They just lack the prompt response from our wonderful police department in most cases to fully address the real problems. I grew up in Northwest Baltimore, 2 blocks over from Pimlico race track. Anyone that has lived or still lives there will tell you, the only time the city even seems like it gives a damn about that area is leading up to the Preakness in order to keep that positve image for the out of towners. And I still get back over there so I can truly say that parts of Baltimore are conveniently out of site, out of mind.
June 24th, 2008 at 4:41 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Like some comments have stated above, the truth of the matter (good or bad) is that we (Baltimore) has a bad reputation of being very violent. The fact that violence "creeps" into the "good" neighborhoods compounds that image. If you aren't safe in Fed Hill, Canton, Mt. Vernon, Bolton Hill and so forth- were are you safe?- goes the thought. We tend to expect certain neighborhoods to have violence. The reaction should be that there is violence- doesn't matter where. I wonder, if we have this kind of reaction to a murder in a "scary" neighborhood would that curtail crime so that ALL neighborhoods can be a safer place to live...
June 24th, 2008 at 10:17 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Just for the record I did say to the Examiner that I am upset and concerned about EVERY murder in this City. The fact is that four of the murders over the weekend were in my district (or on the border) and I started my statement by saying that I was disturbed by each and every one of them.
The Examiner chose not to print that part of the quote, which is why it is always dangerous to be quoted in the first place.
"Cat" asks a great question at the conclusion of his/her statement and I couldn't agree with it more. We should be disturbed by every senseless loss of life on our streets.
I know I don't sleep much when I get that call from the police telling me another young man or woman has died . . . regardless of what neighborhood they died in.