A shooting in the 3500 block of East Lombard Street left at least one person dead and multiple others injured by gunfire early Thursday, as homicide detectives descended on the Baltimore Highlands neighborhood to piece together what happened. Ambulances rushed at least one injured victim to a local hospital while police covered the body of the person who died at the scene with a white sheet to shield it from the gathering crowd of bystanders.
According to FOX45, Baltimore Police officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 3500 block of East Lombard Street a little after midnight. Officers searched the intersection of East Lombard Street and South Conkling Street for cartridge casings and other evidence as homicide detectives opened an investigation into the fatal shooting in Southeast Baltimore, the station reported. Dozens of neighborhood residents gathered near the crime scene tape to watch, according to cedarnews.net, which also confirmed that at least one person died at the site.
Residents Help Police Piece Together The Scene
Some residents of Baltimore Highlands stuck around to assist police as they worked the East Lombard Street scene, per the station's report. FOX45 said it was still gathering additional information on the shooting as of Thursday morning, and no suspect description, arrest, or motive had been released.
This is not the first violent shooting to hit the Baltimore Highlands area this year. On June 13, officers responded to the 3400 block of Fairmount Avenue around 4:54 a.m. to investigate a reported shooting, according to baltimorewitness.org. A 28-year-old man suffered gunshot wounds to his lower body in that incident and was listed in stable condition at an area hospital. By June 30, a 28-year-old man had been arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with that shooting, baltimoresun.com reported.
A Separate Fatal Shooting Earlier This Year
Baltimore Highlands also saw a fatal shooting in June, when officers responded to the 3400 block of Leverton Street at approximately 12:14 a.m. on June 23 to investigate a shooting report, according to baltimorewitness.org. Officers located an unidentified man suffering from a gunshot wound, and he was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased, the outlet reported. It is unknown whether that June shooting is connected to Thursday's incident.
Southeast Baltimore has also seen other fatal gun violence this year. CBS Baltimore reported that officers responded around 8:40 p.m. to the 500 block of N. Lakewood Avenue, where an unidentified male was found suffering from a gunshot wound; he was later taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
Citywide Homicide Trends Show A Mixed Picture
Thursday's shooting comes as Baltimore's broader homicide numbers tell a complicated story. Killings from January 1 through June 20 fell 23% compared with the same period a year earlier, based on the latest data Baltimore Police submitted to the FBI, according to The Banner. The outlet also noted that updated police records showed 49 homicides as of that Tuesday morning, three more than the 46 reported to the FBI through June 20, while nonfatal shootings were actually three higher than the same period the prior year.
More recent tracking from the Baltimore Sun homicide data project shows that the decline in homicides that began in 2023 has slowed in 2026, even as the city remains on track for a fourth straight year of double-digit percentage decreases. That same tracking found nonfatal shootings running much closer to 2025 levels this year. Mayor Brandon M. Scott's office had earlier pointed to progress on violence reduction, noting that through August 3 the city had recorded 60 homicides and 187 nonfatal shootings, compared with 81 homicides and 190 nonfatal shootings over the same stretch the year before, according to a statement from the City of Baltimore.
No further details on the identity of Thursday's victim, the condition of those injured, or a possible motive have been released. FOX45 said it continues gathering information on the shooting as the investigation unfolds.
