[AP] BALTIMORE (AP) -- Last week, the number of homicides in Baltimore surpassed 200, making 2017 a record-setting year for violence on the city’s streets.As the body count rises, the police department has reassigned 150 officers to the city’s most dangerous areas, but is still struggling to curb the bloodshed amid internal turmoil and mounting criticism. Mayor Catherine Pugh said she’s developed a plan to stop the violence, but hasn’t yet made it public.
In the meantime, Baltimore residents are taking matters into their own hands, proposing a 72-hour cease fire that would go into effect Friday and last at least through Sunday.
"Nobody Kill Anybody"
Erricka Bridgeford, a professional conflict mediator in Baltimore, is one of the organizers of the cease-fire, whose motto is "Nobody Kill Anybody."
Bridgeford says no individual or organization alone has taken credit for the event, and that’s intentional: That way, she said, it belongs to every single Baltimore resident.
The idea is to persuade shooters to put down their guns for three whole days, and remember what it feels like to make a positive decision for themselves, and for their city.