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Health & Fitness

A City United In the Face of Violence

Dear Baltimoreans,

I recently took time to visit areas that have been scenes of the tragic spike in violence that has visited our City over the past several weeks.

Far too many people have been wounded by gunfire or shot dead on our streets. These victims are not nameless and faceless individuals. They matter to the loved ones they leave behind and it is our responsibility to bring the perpetrators to justice, while we work tirelessly to improve our neighborhoods and protect additional families from the grief and suffering that accompany violence.

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We love this City, and we remain focused on ways that we can help strengthen our neighborhoods. While these past few weeks have been extremely difficult for the citizens of Baltimore, there are encouraging signs that this latest spike in crime will not be shrugged off as unavoidable.

On Friday evening hundreds of men – old, young, brothers, fathers, uncles, grandfathers, black and white – joined the 300 Man March to End Violence. These men came from all corners of our city and converged on the 3400 block of North Avenue headed for a 10-mile march to reclaim our streets. These men, and many others like them, are committed to stemming the tide of violence.

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And a similar story of dedicated residents who are defiant in the face of unspeakable violence was recounted in a recent column in the Baltimore Sun.

According to neighbors and community leaders in the Johnston Square neighborhood, residents confronted drug dealers about a patch of green that once served as a community space, but most recently was overrun with criminals dealing drugs. Community leaders joined together and decided to kick out the transgressors.

These actions make me confident that our City is indeed prepared to reclaim our streets. The work will be difficult, but I’m certain that Baltimore is up to the task.

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