Baltimore homicides, shootings continue to drop in first half of 2025, but not in all areas

Racquel Bazos and Steve Earley, Baltimore Sun on Jul 1, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

BALTIMORE — Mayor Brandon Scott on Tuesday touted continued decreases in the city’s homicide and non-fatal shooting rates for the first half of 2025, but the falling numbers were not seen across all nine Baltimore police districts.

The city has seen a 22.7% reduction in homicides and a 19.6% reduction in non-fatal shootings between the first halves of 2025 and 2024. There have been 68 homicides through June, which a news release from the mayor’s office said was the fewest in over 50 years.

“Our continued progress is the direct result of the comprehensive, evidence-based public safety strategy that we have implemented in partnership with residents,” Scott said in the release.

The mayor thanked the Baltimore Police Department, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and prosecutorial offices at the local, state and federal level.

Other categories of crime, such as car theft, robberies and arsons, are also down over the past six months, the release says.

“But our work is far from over. (Sixty-eight) lives lost to violence is 68 too many. While we acknowledge the historic lows we are experiencing, we must simultaneously acknowledge that there is much more work to do and our success makes me commit even further to doing it.”

A Baltimore Sun analysis showed that the drop in homicides was not across the board for all police districts, with some staying flat and one showing a more than 20% increase.

Three of the nine police districts did not show a decrease. Southwest had 11 homicides compared with nine through the first half of last year. Both Central (six homicides) and Southeast (10 homicides) districts had the same number as this point last year.

“The State of Maryland is incredibly proud of the work that has been done in partnership with local, state, and federal officials to take an all-of-the-above approach to public safety that is showing results across the state,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement.

“This year’s mid-year report highlights meaningful progress in reducing crime, hiring more officers, advancing Consent Decree compliance and addressing quality-of-life concerns,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley in a release from the police department.

He noted that “recent high-profile incidents” show the department still has work to do in building community trust. While Worley did not reference any specific incidents, Baltimore Police were involved in the deaths of three people in June: Bilal Abdullah, an arabber who was fatally shot during an armed confrontation with police in Upton; Pytorcarcha Brooks, a 70-year-old woman who allegedly lunged at officers during a mental health call; and a third man, who appeared to be suffering a mental health crisis and whose name has not yet been released by the Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division.

Worley said in the release that the department will “continue to strengthen community policing efforts, build trust and stay focused on reducing gun violence and crime in our neighborhoods.”

“Baltimore is a safer city today, and I’m proud of the dedication shown by our officers, community members and all of our partners in working together towards that goal.”

_______