Youth-involved shootings skyrocket in Baltimore
President of the Maryland Fraternal Order of Police Clyde Boatwright says former political leaders and social media fueled youth homicide rates in Baltimore on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
A Baltimore grandmother was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday after her 9-year-old grandson shot and killed a 15-year-old neighbor.
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates said in a press release that April Gaskins was sentenced to three years for reckless endangerment, and one year for firearm access by a minor. Both sentences are to be served consecutively.
In July, Gaskins was found guilty of the charges connected to the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Nykayla Strawder, who was shot by Gaskins’ grandson.
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"I hope this sentence makes it clear that in the City of Baltimore, we are holding everyone accountable for their role in proliferating violence, especially violence against our children, "Bates said. "Responsible gun ownership can be a matter of life or death for parents and guardians. This case shows the deadly aftermath when people are careless with firearms. I hope the Strawder family finds healing in today’s sentence."
Officers with the Baltimore Police Department responded to a report of a shooting at about 8 p.m. on Aug. 6, 2022, and when they arrived, they found a juvenile girl, later identified as Strawder, on the porch of a home and suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
Strawder was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A Baltimore police investigation found that a group of juveniles was on the front porch of a residence when the 9-year-old boy started showing off a handgun. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images/File)
An investigation found that a group of juveniles was on the front porch of a residence when the 9-year-old boy started showing off a handgun.
As the boy flaunted the gun, it fired, and the bullet struck Strawder once in the head.
The 9-year-old immediately dropped the gun and fled. Investigators located the handgun and learned it was registered to Gaskins, the 9-year-old’s guardian and grandmother.
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Inside a courtroom with gavel in view. (iStock)
When questioned by investigators, Gaskins said the gun was her personal weapon, and she stored it in her bedroom closet on the floor.
Gaskins also said her grandson often watched television in her bedroom, which he had access to.
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When investigators executed a search and seizure warrant at her residence, they located an empty magazine, two boxes of 9mm ammunition and an empty gun box.
