Bloody Baltimore

The Baltimore Sun reports. The reality is worse than The Wire.

It seems as if the entire city was wrapped in crime scene tape this weekend.

Ten people shot. Seven of them died. We've had weekends, days even, with more shootings (remember the day of the cookout last year when 18 people were shot in a single night -- though only two people died) but I can't recall any as deadly.

Virtually every part of the city, including two area where cops and everyone else are concentrating on -- Carrollton Ridge, where 5-year-old Raven Wyatt was shot last year, and McElderry Park, where former gang members try to intervene in disputes before they become violent.

And this morning we wake to news that the end of the Memorial Day holiday has brought no respite to the weary. Another shooting, another death, 43 minutes after midnight, technically after the holiday, but adding to the toll means 11 shootings with 8 dead in four days. This time, the shooting was in West Baltimore, on Fulton Avenue. And on top of that, a man was stabbed to death about 6 p.m. Monday in Northeast Baltimore.

What's the solution? Should we lessen the restrictions on buying and owning guns? Does that make sense to you? Please keep in mind, all the guns used in these shootings started out legally owned. In most cases, the last legal owner was responsible for the weapon passing into the criminal world. That's the connection. That's why the lawful gun owners cannot disassociate themselves from this mess.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.