BALTIMORE — More than a dozen teenagers have been murdered in Baltimore so far in 2022, according to Baltimore police.
WJZ reviewed data released from the department over a period of a few days and found that since July 29, at least eight teenagers have been shot in Baltimore and at least four of those victims died.
Katrina Armwood is the founder of the non-profit The Honesty Foundation and lives in the Edmondson Village, a neighborhood that has experienced the death of at least four teenagers in the last year.
The latest tragedy came Saturday when 15-year-old Nykayia Strawder was killed. A 9-year-old boy who was playing with a gun accidentally shot her in the head, police said.
“Every time we lose one, a piece of me is lost as well,” said Armwood. “It’s like a black cloud over Edmondson Village.”
Armwood is like a community mom. She’s there before and after the tragedies with resources like job training and therapy. She said each time a child dies in her close-knit community, it’s very likely that she knows the victim.
Asked if she feels like she failed whenever a young person dies, Armwood said: “Absolutely, but at the same time, that feeling does not last forever because I still have a lot more that are alive and the families that I continue to support that lost their loved one. I know that I did not fail those families because I am still here.”
Since Jan. 1 of this year, at least 11 children younger than 17 have been murdered in Baltimore and four of the victims were killed between July 29 and Aug. 6.
Armwood said non-profit organizations are more likely to have boots on the ground during non-traditional hours and in the nights. If a worried parent calls a mentor because their child in not home, that mentor is more likely to be available to go find the child before they become a victim of violence or conduct a violent activity.
Those smaller, more community-based groups should receive priority funding, and that will help start the process of interrupting violence, Armwood said.
“It happens so much and it’s sad to say it happens today and it’s forgotten about tomorrow,” she said.. “It’s very vital and very important that the social and emotional process is addressed with our youth, because if we don’t address that component of their health, it’s going to be a cycle that repeats itself.
As a young wife, Armwood lost her husband to Baltimore’s violence.
Each time her daughter walks away, she said, “I just silently say a prayer.”