Overview
- Plaintiffs filed wrongful-death and negligence suits against the Housing Authority of Baltimore City and its CEO, alleging the agency failed to prevent or secure the large Brooklyn Day block party where two people were killed and about 30 were shot.
- The complaints say the authority had prior warnings about rising violence, ran a limited 2022 pilot for contracted security that did not include Brooklyn Homes, and missed opportunities to staff or stop the event as crowds grew.
- Baltimore Police’s 173-page review criticized a hands-off response by officers on the night of the shooting, and five people were arrested in the investigation though no one has been charged with murder.
- The housing authority told reporters it had not been served with the lawsuits and declined to comment, and no court dates have been scheduled yet in the civil cases.
- Brooklyn Day was a long-running neighborhood block party that drew hundreds, and the suits aim to hold city institutions responsible for how public events are monitored and secured going forward.