Fatally Shot

Two young men were fatally shot in separate incidents early yesterday and Tuesday night, and a 17-year-old was arrested in one of them, as the pace of homicides in Baltimore reached an average of one a day in May. The latest reported killings brought to 124 the number of homicides in the city this year, compared with 111 for the same period in 2006, police said. Law enforcement officials attribute at least part of the violence to drug turf battles and an increase in gang rivalries. In many cases, police and prosecutors complain that victims and witnesses are reluctant to cooperate with investigators and instead settle scores outside the city's criminal justice system.

A technician working on the city's 112-siren alarm system inadvertently set off the loud tone alert several times yesterday, prompting dozens of complaints to the Fire Department from residents.Battalion Chief Hector L. Torres said officials are not sure what caused the alarm -- a remnant of the Cold War that is tested every Monday at 1 p.m. -- to go off. "Something the technician is doing is causing it to go off," he said.A similar mistake occurred in 1996, when a technician tapped into the wrong circuit, causing the alarm to sound for 10 minutes.

A man was fatally shot yesterday afternoon in Northwest Baltimore while running from an unknown assailant, police said.Police knew of no motive for the slaying and had no suspects.Witnesses told police they saw William Godley, 24, of the 3600 block of Park Heights Ave. running from a man about 3 p.m. in the first block of Ridgewood Ave. when the man shot Godley in the leg and neck. The assailant fled. Godley was pronounced dead at Sinai Hospital.Pub Date: 6/28/98

Police have identified Joseph James, 58, as the homeless man found fatally shot Friday outside his makeshift home near the Fire Department Academy off the 6500 block of Pulaski Highway.Police said James, who had been honorably discharged from the Air Force, had been shot in the head and upper body.Pub Date: 12/17/98

A 41-year-old Baltimore man died at Johns Hopkins Hospital last night after he was shot numerous times about 10: 15 p.m. in the 2500 block of E. Fayette St., city police said.Milton James Wright of the 400 block of Glover St. was arguing with another man when the man drew a gun and shot him, police said. They said the shooter fled and was being sought.Pub Date: 9/02/98

A man was fatally shot yesterday afternoon as he was about to enter a friend's pickup truck on a busy West Baltimore street, police said.Detective John Thanner said Willie Lawson, 29, of the 2500 block of Winchester St. was getting into a friend's pickup truck in the 1600 block of W. North Ave. at North Carey St. about 3: 30 p.m. when a gunman approached and shot him twice in the upper body. The friend, Lebard Jones, 21, of the 1600 block of Westwood Ave. was shot in the left arm.Thanner said Jones drove to Liberty Medical Center, where Lawson was pronounced dead on arrival and Jones was treated.

A man reportedly upset about his girlfriend's desire to end their relationship fatally shot the woman as she worked at a food stand in Lexington Market yesterday evening then fatally shot himself, city police said.An unidentified man who was shopping in the crowded market suffered a minor gunshot wound in the left leg from a stray bullet from the shooter's weapon, police said.After the shooting, shoppers ran to the Eutaw and Lexington streets exits. One shopper described the scene as "a mass of confusion."

An unidentified youth was fatally shot yesterday evening while he sat on the front steps of a Southeast Baltimore rowhouse, a police investigator said.No arrest had been made and police knew of no motive for the killing.Homicide Detective Kevin Turner said the victim, who was black and appeared to be 16 to 18 years old, carried no identification. He was alone on the steps in the 200 block of N. Milton Ave. about 6 p.m. when the gunman approached and fired several shots.The youth was hit in the upper torso, and at least one bullet pierced the door of the house.

A 22-year-old East Baltimore man was summoned outside his residence about 11: 45 p.m. last night, chased for a short distance and fatally shot by one of two men with whom he had argued earlier, police said.Police said Gerard Woodley, of the 6200 block of Plantview Way in O'Donnell Heights, was shot in the left armpit with a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun.Pub Date: 3/11/97

A 16-year-old Woodlawn boy was fatally shot early yesterday in a fight between two groups of boys outside the Featherbed Apartments near Featherbed Lane Elementary School in Woodlawn.Baltimore County police spokesman Sgt. Kevin B. Novak said Alan Parker was found dead in a grassy area on the 2000 block of Rich Glen Drive near a playground. Neighbors reported hearing several shots at 1: 22 a.m.Police said the shooting occurred during an argument involving Parker and his group of friends and another group.

A 39-year-old man was fatally shot in the head about 12:30 a.m. Friday in Southwest Baltimore, one of four shootings during the city's most violent night since the spate of shootings last weekend, according to police. The man, identified as Lamont Woodard, was shot several times and found on the ground surrounded by a crowd of people next to the driver's side of a vehicle in the 500 block of E. Lynn Ave., where he lived, police said. He was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center and pronounced dead at 1 a.m. According to court records, Woodard was convicted of first-degree murder in 1989 and sentenced to 30 years in prison with five years suspended.

Two men were fatally shot, one late Wednesday and one early Thursday, according to city police. On Wednesday night, an 18-year-old man was found with a gunshot wound in the chest in the 1700 block of Division St. in West Baltimore, police said. An officer handling an unrelated call heard gunshots and found the victim, Maurice McFadden of the 2100 block of Cambridge St., lying in the street. He was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died about 11:35 p.m. Police have made no arrests.

Two men shot, one fatally, in Northwest Baltimore A man was fatally shot in the head Wednesday afternoon in Northwest Baltimore, according to city police. The man was pronounced dead about 1:20 p.m. at the scene of the shooting in the 3900 block of Fairfax Road, police said. About an hour earlier, a 42-year-old man was shot in the upper torso and knee in the 3800 block of Ayrdale Ave., police said. He was taken to an area hospital after staggering to a Walgreens drugstore in the 3800 block of Liberty Heights Ave., according to police.

A man was fatally shot Monday morning in Southwest Baltimore near a city elementary school that was closed for spring break. The shooting was reported at 9:11 a.m. in the 2100 block of Christian St., just yards from Samuel F.B. Morse Elementary School. Police found the man, who was in his 20s, suffering from at least one gunshot wound to his torso. Maj. Terrence McLarney, commander of the homicide unit, said detectives believe the man was shot in a nearby alley and then jumped into a friend's car. The car went a short distance, on Christian Street, before stopping.

Two men fatally shot in unrelated attacks Two men were fatally shot early yesterday in apparently unrelated incidents, Baltimore police said. The first shooting occurred in the 1800 block of N. Washington St. Police said Donnell Williams, 19, of the 1600 block of Cliftview Ave. was shot about 12:10 a.m. and died a short time later at an area hospital. The second shooting took place less than two hours later. Shortly after 2 a.m., Eastern District police responding to a report of a man shot in the 200 block of S. Clinton St. learned that the victim had been taken by a city Fire Department ambulance to an area hospital.

Frederick senator agrees to protective order terms A state senator from Frederick County has agreed to immediately move out of his Mount Airy home after allegations by his wife that he pushed her on a bed, then choked her when she got up. The agreement yesterday followed a request for a protective order filed Tuesday on behalf of Sallie Brinkley, wife of Republican Sen. David Brinkley. Under the agreement, David Brinkley is consenting to the protective order without admitting that any abuse occurred.

Man, 24, is fatally shot in Northeast Baltimore A 24-year-old man was fatally shot in Northeast Baltimore early yesterday, police said. Michael Wilson of the 3100 block of Belair Road was found about 2:30 a.m. bleeding on a sidewalk in the Belair-Edison community and was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital, said Agent Donny Moses, a police spokesman. Moses said an investigation indicates that Wilson was standing in the 3000 block of Belair Road when someone approached on foot from Lawnview Street and exchanged words with him. The other person then produced a handgun and shot Wilson multiple times in the torso.

A man was fatally shot yesterday afternoon near Forest Park High School, and city police do not know his identity or a motive for the killing. About 3 p.m., Northwestern District police responding to a 911 call reporting shots fired in the 4100 block of Barrington Road found the victim on the ground, bleeding from at least one gunshot wound. A Fire Department dispatcher said that medics pronounced the man dead at the scene and that city homicide detectives were investigating. Metro Crime Stoppers at 410-276-8888 is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and an indictment in the slaying.

An unidentified man was fatally shot last night on a street in Fells Point, police said. Details were not available, but police said the man was found shot in the 200 block of S. Broadway near Gough Street shortly after 9 p.m. by Southeastern District police officers responding to a report of a shooting. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by Fire Department medics. Metro Crime Stoppers at 410-276-8888 is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and an indictment in the slaying.

A man who was fatally shot early Friday while attending a party at an apartment near Morgan State University was not a student at the school, Morgan officials confirmed yesterday. Police did not release the name of the man, but Clinton Coleman, a Morgan spokesman, said police gave the school the victim's name, and that he is not in the university's student database. Coleman added that it is unlikely the man lived in Morgan View Apartments, the privately run student housing complex in the 1500 block of Pentridge Road where the shooting took place.