Police found a person struck by gunfire in the 3200 block of Belair Road early Sunday morning. Medics were later seen talking with the person, and while officers combed the scene for evidence, one of their own was hurt and had to be carried off in an ambulance. The shooting unfolded in Baltimore's Belair-Edison neighborhood, near one of the busiest intersections in east Baltimore.
Officer Hurt While Searching for Evidence
Police found the gunshot victim in the 3200 block of Belair Road, according to WBFF. Soon after, one of the responding officers sustained an injury while assisting with the search for evidence, and an ambulance took that officer to a local hospital, the station reported. Investigators were seen examining rifle rounds following the burst of gunfire near Belair Road in the early hours of Sunday.
The investigation didn't stop at a single location. Police eventually expanded the crime scene to include a house near the 3100 block of Belair Road, per the same account. A second scene a few blocks away, also in the 3200 block of Belair Road, showed where bullets had struck the front door of a pizza shop.
Scene Sits Near a Pattern of Recent Violence
The discovery of the gunshot victim came just three days after police had already responded to gunfire in the same area, the station noted. That proximity echoes a string of earlier shootings that have rattled the Belair-Edison neighborhood in recent months.
On Feb. 5, officers were called to the 3200 block of Belair Road at approximately 11:33 p.m. for reports of shots fired, according to Baltimore Witness. They found 42-year-old Gregory Nelson suffering from gunshot wounds; medics took him to an area hospital, where he was initially listed in critical but stable condition before he died shortly after, the outlet reported. Baltimore police were investigating that case as a homicide.
Spring and Winter Shootings Also Struck the Neighborhood
A nonfatal shooting followed on May 21, when officers were called to the 3100 block of Brendan Avenue at about 12:39 a.m. for reports of a shooting, according to WBFF. Police said the 35-year-old man found at the scene had a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, and medics took him to a local hospital for treatment. Eastern District detectives investigated while police blocked off the intersection of Brendan Avenue and Kavon Avenue; detectives urged anyone with information to call 410-396-2433 or contact Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.
The neighborhood also saw a mass shooting on Dec. 15, when an Eastern District patrol officer near Belair Road and Mayfield Avenue heard gunshots at approximately 10:53 p.m., according to Baltimore Witness. The officer located two men, ages 24 and 20, with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, along with a 54-year-old woman who was pronounced dead at the scene. Two more men, ages 25 and 31, walked into an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries while officers were still working the scene, and the Baltimore Police Department opened a homicide investigation into the shooting.
No suspect information, arrests, or official statement describing Sunday's shooting had been released as of this report.
