7 Shot, 1 Killed At Cookout In West Baltimore: Police

BALTIMORE, MD — One man died and six people were injured when a gunman opened fire Sunday evening at a cookout on Edmondson Avenue in west Baltimore, according to police. The shooter has not been located, and authorities are asking for tips from anyone with information. Someone in the crowd may have also fired shots.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison called the event a "very tragic, very cowardly shooting."

Officers were dispatched to the 2500 block of Edmondson Avenue at 5:03 p.m. on Sunday, April 28. When they arrived, medics were already tending to the wounded.

"What we know right now is that there was a black male who approached the intersection and began firing indiscriminately into the crowd, striking a number of people," Harrison said at a press conference at the intersection of Edmondson and Whitmore avenues after 7 p.m. "That person was targeting one if not more people in that crowd."

Derrell Briscoe, 28, was killed, according to police. His identity was not released as of Monday afternoon so that next of kin could be notified. Authorities released his name Wednesday, May 1.

A 30-year-old woman and five men — ages 27, 29, 30, 51 and 58 — were injured, police reported Sunday night. All were taken to area hospitals with injuries that were believed to be non-life-threatening.

The shooter took off in the direction he came from and has not been located.

Harrison said: "What we believe is that there was a second shooter perhaps firing back, but it is still unknown — perhaps firing back at that perpetrator."

"...the one person that is deceased ran behind the church and collapsed there," acting Mayor Jack Young said at the press conference, saying of the shooting: "It wasn't anything dealing with the church."

The commissioner echoed that point.

"This was nothing related to any events at the church or by the church or for the church," Harrison said.

Investigators were collecting evidence and interviewing potential witnesses Sunday evening.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

"We know that many people were out here," Harrison said. "It is only with community help that we will be able to identify who did this and hold them accountable."

Added Harrison: "What we need now is for the people to have the same resilience and the same tenacity to go after him like he came after the people who were out here today."

Have a tip for police? There are a variety of ways to submit the information:

• Call Baltimore Police detectives at 410-396-2100 or 410-396-2221.
• Text tips to the Baltimore Police Department at 443-902-4824.
• Call the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP; callers are anonymous.
• Download the Baltimore Police app to submit a tip online.