Gunned down with several bullets in South Baltimore Thursday, an unidentified man became the 277th person killed in Baltimore City this year ? one more than all of 2006.
But the passing of last year?s homicide total ? while symbolic ? should not be overblown, because total crime is down this year, said Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld.
In an interview on “The Ed Norris Show,” Bealefeld told The Examiner reporter Stephen Janis that the situation on Baltimore?s streets has dramatically improved since he took over the police department in July. Since that time, police have posted reductions in violent crime, shootings and homicides.
“You can?t get lost just in the homicide rate,” he said. “You have to look at total violence in the city. … The two areas you need to look at are the nonfatal shootings coupled with the murders. For every homicide in the city, there?s about 2.5 nonfatal shootings or so. These really are failed murder attempts. If you look at where we were in mid-July and where we are today on that nonfatal shooting number, we?ve really made remarkable progress.”
In July, the city had experienced a 34 percent increase in shootings compared with the same time period in 2006. Now, the city?s shootings total is 2 percent more than year?s statistics.
“We stand a very good chance of closing the year with fewer nonfatal shootings than last year,” Bealefeld said.
The latest slaying occurred early Thursday morning in the 2300 block of Atlantic Avenue in South Baltimore, said Officer Troy Harris, a police spokesman. Police had not yet identified the man by press time. Harris said there were no witnesses and no suspects.
On the same day as Baltimore City surpassed last year?s homicide total, Baltimore County did the same — with its 35th homicide.
Bealefeld said his main focus is on “bad guys with guns.”
“We need to look at people on parole or probation, people who have open warrants for having a gun,” he said. “We need to work smarter. We can?t make a priority of everyone.”
Examiner Staff Writer Stephen Janis contributed to this story.
