City plans event in Brooklyn on one-year mark of Baltimore mass shooting: ‘We’re not forgetting them’

BALTIMORE — Young people who live in or near Brooklyn Homes have been “close-mouthed” about last year’s Brooklyn Day block party that ended in gunfire, according to Kandice Golden, a Brooklyn resident who runs a girl’s program called Excellence Esthetics.

But those same young people have been vocal about activities they’d want — hula hoops, jump ropes, bubbles and water games — at a healing and wellness event planned for July 2, which will mark one year since the event ended in gunfire that killed two and wounded 28, she said.

“They don’t talk about it much. They don’t say much even when I ask questions. But they liked the opportunity to say what they would like to see,” said Golden, whose program uses the skills of esthetics and cosmetology to spur larger conversations about health and wellness, including mental and emotional health.

The upcoming event in South Baltimore’s Brooklyn neighborhood, a Brooklyn Healing and Wellness Event, hopes to build on the relationships with residents and community organizations fostered in the last year to offer residents space to connect with resources, enjoy wellness activities, explore mental health services and be together. The event is planned for 2 to 7 p.m. and is expected to span 10th Street between Druidon Court and Gretna Court, where the shooting started last year.

Conversations at a recent planning meeting, attended by dozens of city staffers, community groups and residents, focused on some logistics — who would bring reusable bags for the food giveaway? where would water bottle coolers be stationed? — while also ensuring the event would be a positive outlet for Brooklyn neighbors, without causing additional harms.

Some residents had voiced concerns about music, especially with loud bass, so any music will be isolated to a “wellness village” and calming in nature. Meeting attendees discussed how to frame a “healing” moment to honor lives lost and impacted by the mass shooting. Others noted one of the shooting victims, Kylis Fagbemi, 20, will have another tree planted in his honor.

Lisa Molock, from the nonprofit Let’s Thrive Baltimore and mental health organization Molock Cares, said later that a tree planted last year for Fagbemi had been removed and that his mother hoped to see a new one planted.

About the healing and wellness event planned for Brooklyn, Molock said: “The community deserves it. They’ve been through so much hurt.”

“We’re not forgetting them,” she continued. “Brooklyn is not the forgotten neighborhood. Everyone is still invested. We love them and we care. We want to get it right this time.”

Event planning discussions have been facilitated by the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, which has had a lasting presence in Brooklyn since last July’s mass shooting.

MONSE spokesman Jack French said in an emailed statement that the “day of healing and remembrance” would bring together mental health, employment and other wraparound supports to help residents recover from “the wide web of trauma” caused by the mass shooting.

The wellness day will serve as an “alternative to Brooklyn Day,” said French, adding that MONSE doesn’t have any information suggesting a more traditional Brooklyn Day event is planned.

Molock, too, said she’s not aware of any other Brooklyn Day plans led by residents, but added that she and other community groups have “our ear to the ground.”

Baltimore Police have participated in planning meetings and are expected to play a role in the upcoming event, French said. The agency was scrutinized for its absence at last year’s gathering, even as crowds swelled to hundreds and lingered past midnight, and an after-action report authored by agency officials blamed “officer indifference” for missteps in the response.

Officers and CitiWatch employees could have seen Brooklyn Day’s growing crowds in the afternoon and into the evening, the after-action report found. But neither appeared to promptly notify supervisors or commanders. Even as supervisors did become aware, they did not quickly relay information outside the district or call for additional resources from other parts of the city.

“Brooklyn homes surprised us with their community party tonight,” the commander’s 12:01 a.m. text to the citywide commander said. “I have [a supervisor] monitoring. For now, no resources are needed but just wanted to give a heads up.”

By 1 a.m., 30 people would be shot in the hundreds-large crowd.

Four of five teenagers charged in connection to the Brooklyn Day shootout have pleaded guilty to varying roles in the event. One, 19-year-old Tristan Jackson, is due in court July 15 and prosecutors said they’ve extended him a plea offer. None of the five were charged with fatally shooting Fagbemi or Aaliyah Gonzalez, 18.

The city’s after-action report also raised questions about the department’s community policing efforts, whether Safe Streets employees at the event prior to the shootings should have flagged it to MONSE leadership and the extent to which the Housing Authority of Baltimore City knew of plans for the event.

This time around, MONSE was joined in the event planning process by numerous community organizations and city agencies. A MONSE staff member said on the planning call that a security plan was in place, in partnership with the housing authority. The groups envision an event distinct from the Brooklyn Day tradition, with a resource fair and healing activities to start, followed by food and other giveaways around 4 p.m.

The Housing Authority of Baltimore City said Thursday it would be holding its own upcoming “healing session” for impacted residents only. The agency said it hadn’t received any applications from residents for additional community events.

Meredith Chaiken, executive director of the Greater Baybrook Alliance, an organization focused on neighborhood revitalization, said residents are looking for opportunities to engage with the city on “creative ways to address safety in the area.” She called that an “ongoing, long-term process.”

“This is another step in that direction,” Chaiken said. “This has been very traumatic for the community, and part of a longstanding issue [stemming] from decades of disinvestment in the community. This is a positive step for everyone to have this event.”

Michelle Rich, who does resident outreach for the Greater Baybrook Alliance and lives in Brooklyn Homes, said neighbors she spoke with about the healing and wellness event were “interested, but reserved.” Some said they wouldn’t stay long if it becomes overcrowded, Rich said, which she thought was a lasting response to last year’s Brooklyn Day.

“I see a lot of residents accepting it and acknowledging it,” Rich said. “Hopefully they’ll come out to it.”

One of the young people Molock works with through Let’s Thrive Baltimore attended the Brooklyn Day event last year, Molock said. When gunfire broke out, the person ran to an alley and called Molock afraid for her life. She was too scared to leave her hiding place to get into a waiting Lyft that Molock had called.

“I was telling her, ‘Come on, baby. You got this. Just get in the car,'” said Molock, describing hearing other people shouting over the phone.

She hopes the event this year can “get it right.”

“We want to get it right this time,” she said. “I’m happy to know we’re going to get it right.”

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