Baltimore police arrest teen linked with deadly block party shooting

Baltimore police arrested a 17-year-old male on weapons charges on Friday in connection with a mass shooting at a neighborhood block party in the Maryland city, but they did not charge the suspect with murder and said their investigation was ongoing.

The teenage suspect, whom the Baltimore Police Department did not name, is being charged with possession of a firearm by a minor, assault weapon possession, reckless endangerment and carrying a handgun in a vehicle.

The department described the teenager as a “juvenile person of interest” in the shooting, adding: “This is still an open and ongoing investigation”.

It offered an up to $28,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest and charges.

The July 2 carnage in South Baltimore’s Brooklyn Homes community killed two people and injured 28 others, half of them children. It was part of a rash of mass shootings ahead of the Fourth of July holiday that drew renewed calls by President Joe Biden for stronger gun control legislation.

There have been at least 361 mass shootings in the U.S. so far in 2023, according to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive. It defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.