Audrey Carter toted a custom poster board for her son, who was murdered in 2018. She also carried the funeral programs for her godson and great-nephew, who were among the more than 130 people who died by gun violence in Baltimore last year.
Carter, among those who attended a vigil of remembrance on Monday evening, said she attends such gatherings to make sure no one forgets her loved ones, whose photos and names she carries proudly.
Hundreds flocked to War Memorial Plaza on Monday evening to mourn those lost to gun violence in Baltimore in 2025.
Christmas lights covered the trunks of otherwise naked trees, and people held artificially lit candles that illuminated the plaza. They braved bitter cold with custom shirts, sweaters and hoodies bearing their loved ones’ photos.
For Krystal Drayton, whose cousin Jamal Davis was killed while working as a security guard at a Northwest Baltimore McDonald’s, Monday was both memorialization and celebration. Jan. 5 is her late cousin’s birthday.
“It’s cold out here, but I do feel like this event is also much needed because it shows that the city cares about the people we’ve lost,” she said. “It was very important for me to be here today to celebrate my cousin.”
Last year, 133 people died by homicide in Baltimore, a 48-year low, as shootings fell faster and further than in other major cities that have had similar struggles with gun violence, a Banner analysis found.
Baltimore Police data shows that homicides and nonfatal shootings decreased 31% and 24%, respectively, over 2025. And other crimes, such as carjackings and commercial robberies, are on the decline, too.
Earlier Monday, local, state and federal leaders gathered at Doxa Ministries Church Without Walls to mark the progress. Those who gathered Monday night sought to put names to the number, 133, highlighting that too many people are still being killed in the city each year.
Mayor Brandon Scott, speaking at a press conference Monday, thanked leaders and community partners for working together to bring about the decline — with a special shoutout and nearly tearful tribute to former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Anthony Barksdale.
Barksdale, a champion of crime-reduction efforts who previously served as Baltimore Police commissioner, died in December at age 53.
“He, in this moment ... would be so proud of this milestone,” Scott said, “and in the same voice, he would also remind us that it’s not enough.”
Residents like Carter agree it isn’t enough and that there’s much more work to be done in caring for young people. She hopes leaders can better tend to younger people and that adults can take more responsibility for the missteps of the kids in their lives.
“Don’t just come when you’re working 9-5. Come help them 5-9. Come help them 9-12. Come help them at 2 o’clock in the morning,” Carter said while fighting back tears. “Just come.”
Despite the historic declines, Karen Fanning doesn’t feel safer. Her son, Justin Davis, was visiting her from Virginia last year when he was fatally shot at a store. She came out Monday night to show that someone was remembering her son. She still feels the “indescribable pain” of losing him in a place she’s called home for nearly 10 years.
“It just feels so bad that so many people done lost their lives to gun violence for no apparent reason,” Fanning said. “They need to put more effort into solving these murders. Do better about getting people some closure.”
Beneath a full moon and a clear winter sky, city leaders and community members recited the names of those who died. Patricia Phillips honored those lost by saying their names, including her son’s, Stephen Phillips. He and her pregnant daughter were shot when someone fired into their vehicle in Northeast Baltimore last October.
Her daughter and grandchild survived and have been the source of her hope, she said. Phillips said she received extensive support from the mayor’s office after her son’s passing, and that officials still contact her.
Phillips believes homicides and violence can decrease even further with everyone involved.
“It’s going to take more than the police. It’s going to take more than the mayor. It’s going to take us,” she said. “We, the people, have to be held accountable for our children, our brothers, people that’s outside with guns in general ... so it could be one less killing.”
As people mourn those lost to guns last year — and with Baltimore already having recorded its first homicide of 2026 — officials are hopeful for more crime and homicide reductions. Scott said his office will release a new five-year comprehensive violence prevention plan with a similar goal of reducing homicides by at least 15% each year.
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