Bernadette Devone remembers hearing the gunshots, perhaps eight or 10 of them. She remembers seeing people running, and then seeing people standing over the body of the little girl.
It was one month ago. Six-year-old Tiffany Smith died after she was struck in the head by a stray bullet from a savage shootout. She had been playing with a doll on the sidewalk in the 1800 block of N. Rosedale St. near North Avenue.
The photograph of Tiffany in pigtails that appeared in newspapers and on TV became a symbol of senseless violence seemingly out of control in the city.
Bernadette Devone vowed that Tiffany Smith will not have died in vain.
In the month since the shooting, Devone has organized her Rosemont neighbors into an aggressive force that has commanded an audience with the mayor -- and gotten one -- and laid out a multifaceted plan for making their community not only safe for law-abiding people, but also flourishing for little girls such as Tiffany.
The culmination of Devone's efforts comes tonight at a community meeting to be attended by Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, City Council President Mary Pat Clarke, City Council members from the 4th District, heads of various city departments and police officials from the Southwestern District.
It begins at 7 o'clock in the basement of the Rosedale Terrace Apartments at 1801 N. Rosedale St., directly across from where Tiffany was shot. The organizers hope the meeting builds support from the community and City Hall.
Devone has been the driving force behind the newly formed Rosemont Community Task Force, but several neighbors offered their early support, including relatives of Tiffany Smith.
Devone summoned neighbors to her apartment Tuesday night to discuss a private meeting the next day with Schmoke in his office. Of the 17 people who gathered at Devone's, 10 were related to Tiffany.
Her mother, Charlene Miller, and father, Troy Smith, were there. TC They are quiet around reporters, but Cecelia Rideout, Tiffany's aunt, said the family appreciates Devone's tireless work. She said the family hopes no more Tiffany Smiths are shot down on the streets of Baltimore.
Devone, 32, is a professional organizer. She lives at Rosedale Terrace Apartments and works for the Maryland Low Income Housing Information Service.
Part of her job is organizing tenants' associations. That is what she did, more or less, with her neighbors after Tiffany's death.
