A 31-year-old mother and her 7-year-old son were shot in the head and killed early Thursday morning in southwest Baltimore, WBAL-TV reports.
.@BaltimorePolice investigating an 8 year old male and 31 year old female shot in the head this am on Upmanor Road pic.twitter.com/sEvH5W3u3L
— Phil Yacuboski (@WBALPhil) May 28, 2015
The victims have been identified as Jennifer Jeffrey Browne and her son, Kester “Tony” Browne III. Jennifer had married her son’s father only last month. The ceremony took place in prison because the father is currently serving a 20 year prison term for assault and gun convictions.
The double murder brings the total of homicides in the month of May to 38, tying the record for the deadliest month in history set in May of 1999.
Baltimore is in the middle of a major spike in crime since the death of Freddie Gray on April 12 and the riots that followed. Police officers are accused of stepping back their enforcement of laws in the wake of what they view as a lack of support from city hall and police leaders.
WBAL-TV reports Baltimore Police Sargent Jarron Jackson as begging the public for information. Jackson said, “Every loss of life is tragic, none more so than when we have such a young life that is taken away. This woman and this child did not deserve to have this happen. This is a truly tragic incident, and I’m begging and pleading for anyone that may have any small bit of information to please call us. They can call 911, they can call our homicide section at 410-396-2100, they can always remain anonymous. Why I’m begging so much is because we need to solve this case. There is no other time than right now when we need to come together as a city, as a Police Department, as a community as a whole and find justice for this young man who lost his life and this young woman.”
*THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION*