If you’ve lived in Baltimore long enough, you know the rhythm of the scanner. It’s a background hum. But this week, that hum felt different as the city balances on a razor's edge between "historic progress" and the gritty reality of the streets. People are talking. Honestly, everyone wants to know if the 2025 dip in violence was a fluke or if the killings in Baltimore this week represent a temporary spike in an otherwise downward trend.
Let's look at the raw data. No fluff.
Just this Monday, January 12, 2026, the Central District was active. At 10:55 p.m., a 26-year-old man walked into a hospital with a gunshot wound to the foot. He’d been shot in the 200 block of North Broadway. Earlier that same day, in the Northwest District, a 55-year-old man sought treatment for a foot wound from an incident on Litchfield Avenue. It's weirdly specific. Two foot wounds, miles apart, hours apart.
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Then there was Wednesday.
The Reality of Violence in Baltimore This Week
Mid-morning on January 14, Northern District officers were on a routine patrol—just driving—when they found a 32-year-old man bleeding on West Cold Spring Lane. Minutes later, they found another victim, a 27-year-old, on Reisterstown Road. Both had been shot in the same incident behind the 2700 block of West Cold Spring Lane.
It’s easy to get lost in the "non-fatal" category. We celebrate when people survive. But the line between a shooting and a homicide is often just a few millimeters of lead and the speed of a Baltimore City medic.
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While the city's 2025 homicide count dropped to 133—the lowest in half a century—the start of 2026 hasn't been silent. We’ve already seen names added to the list. Derek Dangerfield, 59, was killed on Penhurst Avenue on January 11. Before him, Kenyon Quickley Jr., just 22 years old, was lost on Marx Avenue on January 5.
Why the "Record Low" Matters (And Why It Doesn't)
Mayor Brandon Scott and Police Commissioner Richard Worley are rightfully touting a 31% decline in homicides from the previous year. They’re calling it "historic." And look, if you’re a parent in a neighborhood that finally feels a bit quieter, it is historic. But for the families of the four people killed in the first eleven days of January 2026, the statistics offer zero comfort.
The city is leaning hard into the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS).
Basically, the cops and social workers are identifying the tiny percentage of people—literally a few hundred—who are responsible for most of the shootings. They’re giving them a choice: take the help or face the hammer. It’s working better than the old "arrest everyone" method, but it’s not a magic wand.
The tension is real. You can feel it in the courtroom. On January 14, Paul "Hitman" Artis was sentenced to 60 years for a 2024 murder on Patapsco Avenue. The prosecutor shared a haunting quote from a witness who refused to identify him earlier: "I would rather my kids come see me in jail than see me in a casket."
That fear doesn't just evaporate because a spreadsheet says homicides are down.
Beyond the City Limits
It isn't just a Baltimore City issue, either. Crime doesn't stop at the invisible line where the Zip code changes. On January 10, Timothy Leslie Randolph, a 45-year-old from Baltimore, was shot and killed in Odenton. Baltimore County is also grappling with its own wave, including a fatal shooting in Dundalk just yesterday, January 15.
The geography of violence is shifting.
- Central District: High frequency of "walk-in" shooting victims at area hospitals.
- Northern/Northwest: Seeing clusters of daytime shootings in residential blocks.
- The County: Increase in domestic-related violence and carjacking-related incidents.
We have to acknowledge the complexity. When we talk about killings in Baltimore this week, we aren't just talking about a number on a dashboard. We’re talking about the 2700 block of West Cold Spring Lane becoming a crime scene while people are just trying to get to work.
Steps for Staying Informed and Safe
If you’re trying to navigate the city or just keep your family safe, the data suggests being proactive rather than paranoid. Use the Open Baltimore data portal; it’s updated weekly and shows exactly where the incidents are happening. It's better than relying on neighborhood rumors.
Support the community violence interrupters. Organizations like Safe Streets are often the ones preventing the next shooting before the police even get a call. If you have information about any of the incidents this week, the number is 1-866-7LOCKUP. You stay anonymous, and you might actually save a life.
Monitor the BPD Media Relations page daily. They release "Media Advisories" every morning that detail the previous 24 hours. It’s the fastest way to get the facts before they get twisted on social media.
The narrative of Baltimore is changing, but the change is slow and, for some, it's coming too late. Stay vigilant, stay informed, and keep demanding accountability from the leaders who say the "historic progress" is here to stay.