Family members, residents of Baltimore’s Cherry Hill neighborhood, law enforcement officials, clergy and others gathered in front of the Cherrydale apartments in the 1100 block of Cherry Hill Road on May 29 to remember a one-year-old who was shot to death several days earlier.
Carter Scott was sitting in the backseat of a car also occupied by his father Rashaw Scott on May 24 when three men wearing latex gloves unloaded 16 rounds into the car. The 16-month-old was shot once in the leg, while his father was hit several times. The boy was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he later died; Scott was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma for surgery.
At a vigil for Carter Scott, the youngest victim of gun violence in Baltimore so far this year, a crowd of more than 100 people gathered to pray for the boy and an end to violence in the city. The vigil was organized by Safe Streets, a group of ex-offenders and gang members who mediate disputes in an attempt to help keep other youth from to becoming victims of violence.
Also in attendance were Baltimore State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein and NAACP Baltimore Chapter President Tessa Hill-Aston, who grew up in Cherry Hill.
“The people who got locked up and the victims were not Cherry Hill residents,” said Hill-Aston. “When anything happens in a community, it puts a bad light on that community.”
Hill-Aston said she still believes the family and community atmosphere is still present in the Cherry Hill neighborhood, although much has changed since she grew up in the area.
“I pray another child does not have to be a victim of these senseless acts of violence,” she said. “These young guys are out here shooting wild.”
Neighborhood residents are scheduled to hold a prayer walk on June 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Baltimore police have arrested two city men in connection with the shooting: Cornell Harvey, 26, and Eddie Tarver, 20. Both are charged with first degree-murder, second degree-murder, first degree-assault, reckless endangerment, illegal possession of a firearm and a host of other charges related to the incident.
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