The Brooklyn Homes Tragedy, In Quotations and Photos Appearing In Stories and Columns In The Baltimore Observer
BPD'S Worley: "I am saddened we weren't able to protect and serve." Baltimore Chief Administrator Faith Leach: “We absolutely all grieved. What happened was awful. We are all grieving as a city.”
"We had multiple opportunities to intervene, and we did not take them. More importantly, we saw that the event was happening. When we saw the crowd gathering, when we got reports there were people with weapons, we could have and should have done more.”
“We are going to find out what happened and fix it. We have to see what happened here and make corrections so this never happens again.”
"I am saddened we weren't able to protect and serve. I didn't want to be on world news for something negative. I’m angry, sad and very disappointed.” — Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard J. Worley Jr., Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee Hearing, Baltimore City Hall, July 13
"No Officer Needed." — Baltimore City Police Classification of 10:45 p.m. 911 Call On July 1 from Brooklyn Homes Reporting Hundreds of People with Guns and Knives at the Community’s Annual “Brooklyn Day” Celebration, According to Acting Police Commissioner Richard J. Worley Jr’s Presentation at Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee Hearing, Baltimore City Hall, July 13
“I know that you all took time to develop your presentations for this hearing tonight, but it is not up to the level where we need to be. No new information was provided to me, and I’m deeply disappointed.” — Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee Hearing, Baltimore City Hall, July 13
“The fact that there were no police officers here is an immense systemic failure. Brooklyn has always and forever been a neglected community. This is not the time for us to forget them now. This is the time for us to come together and stand in solidarity with them.” — Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, Brooklyn Homes, July 3
“We absolutely all grieved. What happened was awful. We are all grieving as a city.” — Faith P. Leach, Chief Administrative Officer, Baltimore City, Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee Hearing, Baltimore City Hall, July 13
“A tragic, horrendous event that shook the city to the core." — Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee Chairman Mark Conway, Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee Hearing, Baltimore City Hall, July 13
“It’s hard for me to grapple with that if this was in Fells Point, it would happen the same exact way. It gets to the culture. I just don’t understand how we get past that. That’s the crux of this matter. All citizens deserve the same level of service.” — Nick Mosby, Baltimore City Council President, Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee Hearing, Baltimore City Hall, July 13
“[Charging documents show ] clear and convincing evidence the defendant would pose a risk to public safety.” — Baltimore District Court Judge Kent J. Boles Jr., Explaining His Decision to Deny Bond to a 17-Year-Old Facing Misdemeanor Charges As the Only Suspect In the Brooklyn Homes Mass Shooting, Baltimore City District Court Hearing, July 10
“Baltimore City Police were derelict in their duty to protect the public. They were not at Brooklyn Homes prior to nor at the time of this horrific incident, and they are attempting to pin this tragedy on this young man without any evidence to support the charges against him.” — Michael S. Clinkscale, Attorney Representing 17-Year-Old Held Without Bond On Misdemeanor Charges In Connection with the July 2 Brooklyn Homes Mass Shooting
“MY BABY!!! Worst day of my life! I cannot do life without her. I NEED HER!! Why would they do this to a perfect angel? I love you so much, baby. I didn’t get there fast enough. God this is a mistake!!! Please!!” — Faceook Post, Krystal Gonzalez, Mother of 18-Year-Old Aaliyah Gonzalez, Fatally Shot At Brooklyn Homes, July 2
“You know, I was born here and I grew up here, and it was a fine place to grow up then, and I was a good kid really. But there’s always temptations, and I started cutting school and smoking some weed and then by high school, doing heroin, and before I know it, I’m an addict. I’m hurting, and I’m hurting everybody in my life.But I got in a program, NA, and I did the steps and then got honest work, fell in love, married, had a little boy, and then me and some some others, young and old, we started this festival here, and we called it Brooklyn Day. And I gotta tell you, even as the neighborhood started going the way of so many others, it seems now almost like a miracle or something that beyond a scuffle here and there, nothing bad ever happened on Brooklyn Day or when, as it often did, it went past midnight, and that made me mighty proud, you know? I don’t even know what to say right now. But this ain’t what we hoped for and this ain’t what we got for 26 years, so it’s like everything we built, it just vanished when those shots rang out. Thanks for coming by and keeping me company. Goodnight, or should I say, good morning? And good luck. We all need faith, son, and we all need luck too.” — Brooklyn Homes Resident, NA Member Who Requested Anonymity, Interview with The Baltimore Observer, 3:15 a.m. July 3
“Why? Why? Why? Somebody gotta tell me why no police was around when the bullets started flying, None of these 30 people who was shot ever shoulda been. The police know all about this community. This ain’t no Inner Harbor or North Baltimore or some shit. These cops ain’t dumb. Where the hell were they? One of those shot was my friend, but just a minor leg wound, thank God. But what about the others? A lot of us know others, and I knew that girl who got killed and the young man. Why? Why were no police here?” — 22-Year-Old Brooklyn Homes Resident Dawn Lefferson, Interview with The Baltimore Observer, 1 a.m., July 12
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Nobody pays me for my reporting and writing for The Baltimore Observer. It is a labor of love, for my hometown, a side gig on top of the health news reporting I do in my day job, and because — God help me — I’ve never dreamed of being anything other than a reporter since I delivered The Morning Sun, owned by the A.S Abell Co., as a kid and read it on the curb before and after delivering the papers. I guess you could say I don’t have much of a life when I’m doing this shit at at all hours of the night. Divorced, one son in college, the other heading into his senior year in high school. And also, a familiar story, and sometimes it hurts, a lot, but it happens: Another goodbye to another good friend. Again, though, don’t cry for me, Baltimore. I love it. Give me a notebook and a pen, and I’m happy.
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