Witness says 16-year-old student 'cried for help' after deadly NE Baltimore shooting
BALTIMORE -- Detectives went door to door in the 1800-block of East 29th Street Monday as they searched for information in the killing of a 16-year-old boy, one of at least five teenagers shot and killed in Baltimore City since the beginning of the year.
One witness told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren the incident was "terrifying" and said she heard five gunshots and watched the teen take his final breaths. She asked that her name not be used.
She told Hellgren his last word was "help."
"I saw him hit the [ground] and he just died. …He kept crying for help."
Police identified the victim as Andres Moreno, Junior. Friends online mourned the teenager they knew as Dre.
"He died right in front of me, and he's a child. He didn't do anything wrong. He was minding his own business walking home," the witness said.
WJZ has confirmed Moreno was a student at Edmondson-Westside High School. Five students were shot near the school last month.
He is one of at least five teenagers who have been murdered in Baltimore this year.
Their loved ones don't want you to forget their names: D'Asia Garrison, Laron Henderson, Aaron Dorsey and Deanta Dorsey, who also attended Edmondson Westside.
Even though an alarming number of young people have lost their lives, overall homicides are down almost 33 percent, with 27 killings in the city this year compared to 40 at this time last year.
Non-fatal shootings are down by 21 percent, with 63 at this point last year compared to 50 so far in 2023.
But that is little comfort to those touched by the recent bloodshed.
"Nobody deserves that. Nobody deserves that at all," said the person who heard Moreno cry out for help. "What did he do wrong? I don't get it."
