Baltimore's Top Cop on Violence Spike: 'City is Better Than This'

The call came early Friday morning, from hundreds of miles away. That’s how the Neal family in Virginia Beach learned their beloved son and brother had fallen victim to gun violence in Baltimore.

“You know, you get a phone call like that, and you can’t accept it,” said James Willie Neal Jr., whose son died after a shooting off Madison Avenue in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood. “In the beginning, it just doesn’t seem real.”

Baltimore police responded to the scene around 2:40 a.m. Friday, officials said. Suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the head, James Anthony Neal, 34, had collapsed in an alley. He was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arriving, police said.

Over the next several hours, two more people were killed, and six others were injured during a spate of daytime gun violence Friday afternoon and evening — including three double shootings that unfolded in neighborhoods across Baltimore: Otterbein, Upton and Langston Hughes. The city recorded two additional homicides during the rest of the weekend.

“This continued level of violence is both frustrating and disheartening to all of us working to reduce crime and keep residents safe,” Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said in a statement Monday morning. “I personally spent a good portion of the weekend at multiple crime scenes. … Our city is better than this.”

Harrison conferred with investigators Friday afternoon at the Otterbein shooting scene on South Charles Street near the Inner Harbor, but he declined to comment further on that case. One of the victims later died at the hospital.

In the statement Monday morning, Harrison promised that his officers are working hard to hold perpetrators accountable.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott also praised the department for a series of weekend arrests, including two suspects charged with attempted murder from previous shootings. He emphasized the importance of policing strategies focused on “those who choose acts of violence as their method of conflict resolution.”

Even before the recent bloodshed, the Baltimore homicide rate was trending higher than this time last year — 76 homicides compared with 65, according to current data from police — and nonfatal shootings are up roughly 40 percent.

During a phone interview Tuesday from his home in Virginia Beach, James Willie Neal said he had barely slept since receiving the news about his oldest child’s killing.

“I have had so many people calling me, saying: Oh God, they just don’t believe it — all these people reaching out because they want to help,” he said. “I guess we’re gonna get through this. I don’t know.”

For now, he’s trying to focus on giving his son a proper send-off. The family established an online fundraiser to help cover funeral costs.

The oldest of three siblings, James Anthony Neal radiated kindness and empathy, his family said. He made friends easily and loved to socialize.

His Facebook profile is filled with inspirational quotes, smiling selfies and jokes about ‘90s cartoon characters.

He had recently been staying with a close friend in Baltimore but was talking about coming back to Virginia Beach, according to his family.

“Then, this happened,” his dad said, pausing to steady his voice. He choked up again, trying to explain how much he supported his son and always rooted for his success.

“He said he always wanted to grow up and be like me,” said James Willie Neal, a proud Navy veteran who described himself as a devoted family man. “He said he let me down a couple times, but I didn’t see it that way.”

James Anthony Neal was born in Morristown, New Jersey, but the family moved around a lot depending on where his dad was stationed in the Navy. They later settled in Virginia Beach.

His younger sister, Latasha Neal, said she remembers him watching animé and pushing her to read all the Harry Potter books. He graduated from high school with honors.

More recently, she said, he became a doting uncle to her children, who adored him.

“He was that person who could find something good in everything,” she said. “He would give the best advice, even if he doesn’t always apply it to himself.”

Baltimore police said detectives have not identified a motive in the case, but the investigation is ongoing.

The department asked anyone with information about the case to contact detectives at 410-396-2100 or use the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

_____

©2022 Baltimore Sun.

Visit baltimoresun.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.