After a lull in July, violence returned to the Inner Harbor during the weekend when a man and a boy were shot during a scuffle between what appears to be rival gang members inside one of the pavilions. The incident occurred just as a concert in the amphitheater was letting out, and though police arrived within minutes, the gunman apparently got away in the rush of people fleeing the scene. Further complicating matters, the victims themselves have made apprehending a suspect difficult by refusing to cooperate with investigators.
The harbor is the crown jewel of Baltimore's downtown renaissance, and anything that damages its reputation as a safe haven for visitors and their families threatens a major economic engine of the city and state. That's why last weekend's disturbance was an example of the kind of situation city officials simply cannot tolerate as business as usual.
After a string of violent incidents around the harbor in May and June, Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III vowed to beef up the police presence in the area with more uniformed patrolmen, undercover officers and detectives. For a while that strategy seemed to work, though it was still a long way from the kind of massive show of force the public was demanding. A spokesman for the commissioner says that's not practical and that even if it were it wouldn't necessarily deter a bad guy bent on committing mayhem. Perhaps not, but it might go a long way toward reassuring the public that everything possible was being done to keep the area safe. As we have noted before, whether people feel secure depends as much on perception as on the actual incidence of crime downtown.
