By daylight, investigators could look for shell casings outside the home on Pascal Avenue in Curtis Bay, but in the dark of night, neighbors could only hear the familiar sound of gunshots.
"I was lying in bed watching TV probably around two or three in the morning and rolled over and heard like six shots, and I started thinking, 'I better wait a minute before I go to the window', because it sounded real close you know," said Steven Fell.
Just two doors down, an unknown assailant had slipped up to the rowhouse and tapped on a window.
"The victim and several other people were sleeping in the front room,” said Det. Donny Moses of the Baltimore City Police Department, “When the victim got up and opened the curtain, that unknown suspect opened fire without warning."
The front window screen bore the holes on eleven shots in all, and several of them struck 53-year old Jessie Worthen in the back and torso.
Police believe the shooting was targeted, but they know little more about the victim than the gunman who took his life.
"He's not a Baltimore native,” said Moses, “He's from D.C. He does have a rather lengthy criminal record in D.C. Why he was here we don't know, but at this point he's dead."
This fatal shooting comes on the heels of another one, just around the corner inside a vacant house on Popland Street.
"Two weeks ago, someone was killed right over there,” said Fell, “So, yes, it's pretty crazy you know."
Police don't believe there's a connection between the murders, but for those living sandwiched between the two killings in two weeks' time, both have certainly shaken their sense of security.
"Yes, it makes me wonder for my daughter when she's here,” said Fell, “It's upsetting, you know?"
Worthen's murder is Baltimore's 34th this year in just 33 days.
Anyone with information is asked to call 410-396-2100, text a tip to 443-902-4824, or call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
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