Residents of the Baltimore Jewish community were left puzzled Friday night as helicopters buzzed ahead shining their spotlight in what appeared to be an active police search.
The police were searching for a Caucasian male who robbed a shell gas station at gun point.
The shell station, located in the Greenspring Shopping center, informed the police of an armed robbery that took place at approximately 9 PM.
The perpetrator escaped by jumping a fence onto the 2700 block of Woodcourt.
The police arrived and followed up with routine inspections. The police stated that the male is no stranger to the Baltimore Police and they have led an unsuccessful bid at catching him thus far.
YWN spoke to a resident who lives on the 2700 block of Wood court located directly behind the shopping center. The resident told YWN that he noticed a suspicious vehicle parked in front of his house and took a hard look at the license plate. He then memorized the digits since Shabbos had already started.
While the Police gathered by the shell station, he approached them and told them of the suspicious vehicle and gave the plate numbers to the officers. They thanked him for his vigilance.
This robbery is just a drop in the bucket as the city of Baltimore has been ravaged by record crime ever since riots broke out after the death of Freddie Gray.
In recent weeks, homicides and shootings have spiked. There were 42 homicides in Baltimore in May, the most in a month since 1990. And police have reported 237 shootings this year, an 84 percent jump over the comparable period last year.
Meanwhile, arrests have plummeted in neighborhoods across the city, according to The Sun’s analysis of police data that is posted online. Some of the starkest declines took place in southwest neighborhoods: Only one arrest each was made in May in the Franklin Square and Mill Hill communities, a 95 percent decline over April arrests.
Shomrim of Baltimore have asked all community members to be vigilant and pay attention to any suspicious activity. In the case of this gas station robbery, a vigilant resident just might make the difference.
(YWN – Studio B)
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7 Responses
The article referenced Baltimore City. The Greenspring Shopping Center is Baltimore County, which has a much lower crime rate.
In addition to the difference in populations, Baltimore County has a far superior Police Department.
The shopping center is in Baltimore County, not Baltimore City. They are two entirely different jurisdictions, each with its own police force. The crime wave in the city is a completely different issue.
That shopping center is in suburban Pikesville, not Baltimore City. The thief took a big risk since while the county police don’t usaully beat up or kill criminals, the prosecutors in the county are quite nasty to criminals.
That’s what happens when you indict cops. They close ranks & they make sure all the stupid politicians & liberal judges understand what it means to be a cop & what life will look like without them.
Also, how important is it when a a non-Jewish business is robbed on Shabbos (and probably of very little, since gas stations handle very little cash sinc emost people use plastic to pay).
Oh wow good point you guys…you mean the 5 feet over the county border that the shopping center is???
Realisticguy : Those five blocks make a lot of difference. One of the most important is that Baltimore County has a no-nonsense view of crime (e.g. until the state objected, they would demand capital punishment for any crime that it was possible for, the city generally refused to ever ask for a death penalty). The police forces are totally separate (the corruption and brutality that the city police are famous for doesn’t apply to the county). In all fairness, most criminals avoid the adjacent frum areas in the city as well (why rob someone in a neighborhood where the police feel free to arrest criminals, when their are richers areas a few miles away with more to steal and police who don’t care).