May has been the deadliest month the city of Baltimore has seen since 1999, reports The Baltimore Sun. Just this past weekend, a wave of violence took the city by storm.
According to Baltimore City Police, 28 people were shot and nine were killed in just 72 hours, reports CBS local. A nine-year-old boy shot in the leg was among several victims in a series of deadly shootings over Memorial Day weekend.
The nine homicides over the weekend increased this month’s total to 35, the city’s highest monthly total in more than 15 years.
City police are requesting that anyone with information regarding the shootings contact the department.
“My hope is the police will the support they need from the community to be able to get some answers and bring some of these individuals to justice,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
Garnering that support will be a significant challenge given recent events.
Council member Mary Pat Clarke told CBS that the violence taking place throughout the city is likely the result of aftershocks from last month's civil unrest.
“It was an earthquake kind of time and I think we’re still dealing with the aftershock,” she said.
For more information, check out the CBS News report below.