South Baltimore

Two men were killed, two others were shot and a fifth man was stabbed on Halloween night in the city. About 8:16 p.m., police found a 32-year-old man shot in the torso near his home in the 5300 block of Carriage Court in the Westgate neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore, just south of North Bend Elementary school. William Simmons, the victim, died just before 9 p.m. at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Police said robbery during a possible drug transaction appears to be the motive.

Three men were shot and one was stabbed on Halloween night in Baltimore, according to Baltimore police. About 7:18 p.m., police responded to the 1000 block of N. Broadway in the Gay Street neighborhood of East Baltimore, just north of the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins Hospital, and found a man shot, police said. About 8:16 p.m., police said another man was found shot in the 5300 block of Carriage Court in the Westgate neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore, just south of North Bend Elementary school.

When the Bridge, the biggest band on Baltimore's jam scene, split up last Thanksgiving, live-music fans wondered who would fill the void. A year later, they may have an answer: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. The quartet of singer/guitarist Greg Ormont, guitarist/singer Jeremy Schon, bassist/singer Ben Carrey and drummer/singer Dan Schwartz has slowly built a large following through three monthlong residencies at the 8x10. Live, the band stretches out songs well past the 10-minute mark, and its members nimble musicianship and stage presence make for an entertaining show.

An early morning two-alarm fire in South Baltimore sent five residents to an area hospital with minor injuries and severely damaged a rowhouse. Baltimore fire officials said firefighters encountered heavy fire when they arrived about 3:30 a.m. to the 1200 block of Battery Ave. in the Riverside neighborhood. Flames and smoke were coming from the first floor of the three-story home. Flames became so intense that the second floor collapsed onto the first. Crews continued to battle the fire throughout the morning; at 8 a.m., it remained a working fire.

Freedom Green is a full-time mom with four young children and a husband whose job has him working 20-hour days. That is why she runs. "There are times when I need to get away, so that I don't flip out," says Green, 40, of Owings Mills. "I don't want to pour that negative energy on my kids. Running is mom's multivitamin, a way to alleviate stress. "Any day that I get to run, they [children] could be hanging from the chandelier in the front foyer, and I wouldn't care. " Of the 25,822 participants signed up for the Baltimore Running Festival's four prime races on Saturday, 61 percent are women, up from 44 percent in 2003.

Two armed men forced employees at a Fort Avenue McDonald's into a walk-in freezer and demanded cash from a safe, but one was nabbed after the store's general manager was able to call police.  Southern District officers were called to the restaurant, in the 800 block of E. Fort Ave. in the Riverside neighborhood, at 11:05 p.m. Saturday for a robbery in progress, and observed that all the lights in the store were turned off. Two men had entered the...

Police are investigating a South Baltimore shooting Friday evening that wounded three men. Two 24-year-old victims were shot in the foot and a 22-year-old man shot in the arm around 6:30 p.m., according to Sgt. Anthony Smith, a city police spokesman. All were hospitalized in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries, he said. Smith said Saturday morning that the shootings occurred in the 1200 block of W. Cross St. Four males in a vehicle, possibly a black Acura, were reportedly involved in the shooting, according to Smith.

Call it Langermann's Junior. The same team behind Langermann's in Canton - chef Neal Langermann and partners David McGill and Mark Lasker - have opened a new restaurant in South Baltimore. The location, 1542 Light St., was recently the home to 1542 Gastropub and before that, the Reserve. Langermann's on Light, as it's known, was open on Monday for bar service. Dining service was to begin on Tuesday. What's on the menu at Langermann's on Light? Pretty much the same fare, we've been told, as at the original Langermann's: Southern-inspired cuisines like Charleston shrimp and grits, maple smokehouse-rubbed Duroc pork chops, Cape Fear scallops and Miss Ellie's fried green tomatoes.

One of Baltimore's most prolific developers faces two lawsuits for unpaid bills related to stalled urban renewal projects along the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River. A lawsuit against Turner Development's principal, Patrick Turner, and a second suit against a Turner-affiliated company are pending in Baltimore Circuit Court - asserting claims totaling more than $200,000. The suits further complicate the development of prime waterfront real estate that has been slated for renewal, by Turner and others, for much of the last decade.

WEATHER The National Weather Service is calling for Friday to be mostly sunny, with a high near 93 and south winds 5 to 8 miles per hour in the morning. Friday night is expected to be partly cloudy, with a low around 75. Saturday is expected to be rainy, with a high near 86. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. Expect delays this afternoon in Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties due to a funeral procession for a Baltimore City police officer . FROM LAST NIGHT Howard police make drugs, guns arrest after car chase : A man and woman were arrested Thursday night after fleeing a Laurel motel room that police were about to raid as part of a drug investigation and leading officers on a pursuit through multiple jurisdictions, according to Howard County Police.