Former Baltimore City Councilman Ken Harris Sr. was shot and killed early this morning in an apparent armed robbery attempt outside of a Northeast Baltimore jazz club
Baltimore City Police said Harris was fatally shot once in the chest about 1:30 a.m. by one of three gunmen — one wearing a ski mask and the others hiding their faces behind bandannas.
As gunmen threatened the owner of the Haven Lounge, Keith Covington, by putting a gun to his head, another shot Harris.
The gunmen pushed their way through the Northeast Baltimore lounge and looted the safe of an undisclosed amount of money.
The 45-year-old Harris tried to escape in his car and was able to drive his car several blocks before crashing on a grassy knoll. He was pronounced dead about 2 a.m. this morning at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Police said Saturday afternoon they did not have any suspects, though witnesses are being interviewed.
“We found the [club] owner’s wallet and a mask several blocks from the club” said Sterling Clifford, spokesman for the Baltimore City Police Department.
Clifford said the owner of the club was able to get off three shots as the robbers escaped out the back door of the club, but detectives do not believe any of the suspects were hit.
In a telephone interview this morning with WBAL-TV, Mayor Sheila Dixon said the city has lost a champion of reform.
“We lost a man who was committed to making … positive changing for Baltimore City, an advocate for mentoring young people.
According to his Wikipedia entry, Harris was “born to a single teenage mother in the Park Heights neighborhood.”
“Growing up in a rough area, Ken saw firsthand what a crime-ridden community looked like,” according to the entry. “He put all of his energy into school, learning at an early age that he didn’t want to wind up in gangs or worse. Ken graduated from Dunbar Senior High School and was MVP of their baseball team in 1981.”
Harris received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Morgan State University and worked for Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
He was elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1999 representing the 4th District. Harris ran for president of the Baltimore City Council in 2007, losing to Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
Harris established the “Bridge to Manhood” in 2005, a program that sends successful African-American men into city Schools to talk with boys about overcoming the odds, according to Wikipedia.
