A 55-year-old man was shot and killed in the early morning hours in Baltimore's Allendale neighborhood, after officers responding to a report of gunfire found him wounded on Old Frederick Road. He was rushed to Shock Trauma, where he later died. Homicide detectives are now working to piece together what led to the shooting, and they have not released any suspect information.
Officers Found Him Wounded on Old Frederick Road
According to foxbaltimore.com, police responded to the 4200 block of Old Frederick Road at about 2:35 a.m. Wednesday for a reported shooting. Officers arrived to find Rogerick Wilkes, 55, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to Shock Trauma, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, according to WBAL News Radio.
Baltimore Police homicide detectives are investigating the shooting, the station's report notes, though no suspect description, arrest or motive has been disclosed. Anyone with information has been asked to contact homicide detectives at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.
A Citywide Homicide Drop That Has Started to Slow
Wilkes's death comes as Baltimore continues to see fewer homicides than it did a year ago, even as that decline has lost some momentum. As of mid-2026, the Baltimore Police Department reported homicides down 23 percent compared with the same point in 2025, with 50 recorded this year against 65 the year before, per the Baltimore Police Department. The department also reported a 60 percent homicide clearance rate and 150 non-fatal shootings, down from 165 over the same period in 2025.
Still, the broader trend has shifted since then. The decline in Baltimore homicides that began in 2023 has slowed in 2026, according to the Baltimore Sun's homicide tracker, even as the city remains on track to record its fourth straight year of double-digit percentage decreases. That same tracking shows nonfatal shootings now running much closer to 2025 levels than homicides are.
West Baltimore Districts Carry the Heaviest Toll
Citywide data reviewed by WBAL show homicides down by 14 compared to this time last year, with non-deadly shootings down by five, even as 89 homicides have been logged across the city's nine police districts so far this year. The Southwestern and Western districts have each recorded 14 homicides, the most of any district, followed by 13 in the Southern district and 11 each in the Northern and Northwestern districts.
That same report pointed to a grim reminder of the violence still playing out in parts of the city: two shootings in West Baltimore during the prior week left three people dead, including a 12-year-old girl. No connection between that violence and Wednesday's shooting in Allendale has been established, and the circumstances surrounding Wilkes's death remain under investigation.
