Less than an hour into 2009, a man lay bleeding on the cold ground in East Baltimore. Police took 2 men into custody. “I thought somebody was shooting for the New Year,” said resident Barbara Lee. Stunned neighbors peaked outside to see the chaos. Police said Mario Williams of Baltimore County, who just turned 31 years old on Christmas Day, got into an argument with a drunk bar manager inside Rumors at N. Luzerne Avenue and E. Monument Street. When the fight spilled outside, Police said someone in the crowd pulled out a gun and shot him. Phil Abdelrahaman said though Rumors is a trouble spot, he's owned his candy shop on Monument St. 3 years now with no issues. “I think most the problem when people come from outside not people in the neighborhood."
And in other neighborhoods, more New Year’s Day violence: a 20 year old man stabbed on the 900 block of Pennsylvania Ave, another 2 on the 2400 block of Greenmount Ave. Meanwhile, back on Luzerne, neighbors said crime tape and Christmas lights were bad signs to start the New Year, despite a 20 year record low murder rate for 2008. “Murder is murder crime is crime but the thing is you really can't compare it because everyone - they loose a loved one," said Steven Sanders.
As of this posting, Mario Williams was on life support at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Police say they have good leads into a possible shooter. No one has been arrested in the other crimes.
