Posted on 02/05/23
If you take a walk in certain parts of Baltimore, you will likely come across a liquor store. Go a few more blocks, and you are likely to see another. A 2018 study by Johns Hopkins University showed that for every 10% increase in the number of alcohol outlets, there was a 4.2% rise in violent crimes. A recent FOX45 investigation found that three fatal shootings in the first month of the year occurred within a few hundred feet of liquor stores.
According to the Baltimore City Liquor License Board, there are 1,221 liquor stores in the city. One of these stores was where 13-year-old Kesley Washington was shot and killed. Retired FBI agent Tyrone Powers believes that liquor stores contribute to the issues that city leaders are concerned about. "We don't talk about these open-air liquor stores, which attract drug dealing and the violence we are talking about," he said.