An adult woman and a juvenile boy were left with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds early Sunday morning after Frederick police responded to a shooting in the 100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, and just two days later officers were called back to the same general neighborhood for a second report of gunfire on West 6th Street. Police have not said whether the two incidents are connected, but the back-to-back calls have put one stretch of the city on edge.
According to the City of Frederick, officers responded to the report of a shooting in the 100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue on August 9 and located an adult woman with a gunshot wound. A juvenile male who had also been shot in the same incident went directly to an area hospital, and both victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Around the same time, police separately responded to a report of shots fired in the first block of West 6th Street, where officers confirmed shots had been fired but found no victims at the scene.
Detectives Weighing Whether Incidents Are Linked
The Frederick Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division is investigating both shooting incidents and is working to determine whether they are related, the city's release states. Detective Anthony McPeak is listed as the lead investigator, and detectives have asked residents and anyone present in either area during the early morning hours of August 9 to review available camera footage for suspicious activity, individuals, vehicles, or other evidence.
Two days after the Sunday shooting, Frederick police responded to another reported gunfire incident near West 6th Street and North Bentz Street, where officers again confirmed shots had been fired but located no victims. The recurrence in the same corridor within 48 hours has raised questions about whether the neighborhood is dealing with an ongoing localized conflict, though police have not officially confirmed a link between the August 9 and August 11 calls.
A Busy Weekend for Frederick Police
The shootings capped a demanding stretch for the department. Just hours before the Sunday shooting, officers were dispatched around 7:49 p.m. on Saturday to assist firefighters with an arson investigation involving a barn fire near Stoddert Alley and Atlas Drive, according to the City of Frederick. Five days earlier, the department had hosted its 2026 National Night Out across Hill Street, Mullinix, and Carrollton parks, an event meant to promote neighborhood safety and community-police unity — a contrast to the violence that followed just days later.
Frederick police are asking anyone with information to upload private security or doorbell camera footage directly to case file 2026-050181 through the department's online evidence portal, powered by Axon's Evidence.com platform. Residents can also contact Det. McPeak at (240) 578-5684 or by email at [email protected], or reach the Frederick Police Department's crime tip line anonymously at 301-600-TIPS (8477). Tipsters can also route information through Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland, which offers anonymous cash rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in unsolved shootings.
Weapons Crimes on the Rise Even as Overall Crime Falls
The shootings arrive against a broader backdrop of shifting crime trends in Frederick. The department's annual report, released in March 2025 and covered by CBS Baltimore, found that overall crime fell 4% and homicides dropped 71% between 2023 and 2024 — but aggravated assault cases rose 20% and weapons violations climbed 26% over the same period. The same report credited the department's Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program, launched in 2022, with helping drive a 56% decrease in local opioid overdoses between 2023 and 2024.
The department is currently led by Acting Chief Kevin Meyer, appointed by Mayor Michael O'Connor in November 2025 after former Chief Jason Lando departed to head the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. Under Maryland Criminal Law § 3-204, discharging a firearm in a public space in a manner that creates a substantial risk of death or serious injury can constitute misdemeanor reckless endangerment, carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. No arrests have been announced in either the Pennsylvania Avenue shooting or the West 6th Street gunfire reports.
