Baltimore’s 333 homicide victims in 2022 honored by banner
By Khiree Stewart
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — The Baltimore Guardian Angels gathered Sunday to honor the 333 lives lost last year to homicide.
They shared the stories behind the victims with hopes it can inspire everyone to do better.
Erica Wilson knows many victims of gun violence in Baltimore City.
“I can just say they are fallen soldiers in my life,” Wilson said. “My daughter, who stands here with me, her father was taken, and she’s 11 years old, and I think it’s horrible to her.”
On Sunday, Wilson and her daughter watched as the Baltimore Guardian Angels unveiled a 20-foot by 30-foot banner outside of a church in southwest Baltimore. The banner names each of the 333 homicide victims in Baltimore City in 2022.
“It’s heartbreaking knowing that so many people are hurting in our city. Behind the names lying on this floor, even seeing as young as 1 years old, that really hurt me and touched me. in a way. I want it to stop,” Wilson said.
The banner shows the names, birthdays, dates of their homicide and how they were killed. Marcus “Strider” Dent, regional director of the Guardian Angels, said the banner is meant to bring attention to the growing number of homicides in the city and show people that we need to do more to stop it.
“So, it’s one thing to say this person got shot this day or that day, but when you see each individual name on a 20-by-30-foot banner, it kind of gives context to what we’re really facing here,” Dent said. “We have to do something to remind authorities, community, police that we’re not going to forget, and there’s something that drastically has to be done”
“We’re really hurting out here, and I’m hoping that people walk past and see this and say enough is enough,” Wilson said. “Please stop. Stop. You’re hurting babies. This young lady should not have to go to prom and not be sent off by her dad. She shouldn’t have to get married and not be walked down the aisle by her dad.”
The Guardian Angels plan to keep the banner hanging for the next couple of weeks.
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