A man was killed and a two-year-old was shot in the face when gunshots rang out in Baltimore on Saturday, officials said.
Police responded to a report of shots fired shortly after 6:30 p.m. near Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street in the city’s Upton neighborhood, Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison told reporters Saturday evening.
One man standing in the street was fatally struck and declared dead at a local hospital while another man was shot in the arm, CBS News reported.
A woman driving her car down the street at the time with two children, ages 6 and 2, was also struck and crashed into a pole. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition, police said.
The two-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the face, Baltimore Councilman Eric Costello confirmed.
The six-year-old was also injured in the crash, police said.
Costello said that an adult male in the vehicle attempted to flee the scene and was detained by police, although his role in the shooting wasn’t immediately clear.
Police are investigating who opened fire and if the shooter had an intended target.
Harrison told reporters that there were numerous witnesses to the shooting and urged them to come forward.
“We know people heard something. We know people saw something,” he said, according to the Baltimore Sun.
He said the two young children were fighting for their lives “all because of some conflict that could’ve been resolved in a much different way.”
At a press conference Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott spoke directly to the city’s men after the shooting.
“I see a lot of folks trying to be, acting like [they’re] tough but [they’re] really weak because only weak people shoot somebody when you know children are right there,” he said.
“If [you’re] harboring that person, and that’s your homeboy, that’s your man, and that’s your cousin, I don’t care who it is. Then you’re weak, too. And we need to step up and be better for ourselves.”