Start Snitching: Outrage in Baltimore as street code stalls child’s death investigation
The shooting death of a 7-year-old child is prompting city leaders to tell people to abandon the street code that hampers police murder probes
For two weeks, little Taylor Hayes fought with all her strength after being shot while riding in the back seat of a car in southwest Baltimore.
But despite the prayers for her survival, the 7-year-old girl died on Thursday and, according to the Baltimore Sun, her loss has outraged city officials and residents who have grown tired of the “no snitching” street code that has put a lid on the investigation.
“There are people who know who shot this little girl,” Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott, who has been outspoken about violence in Baltimore, said. “A real person would step up and say, ‘I did it.’ A real person would step up and say, ‘This is who did it.’ ”
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The driver, 33-year-old Darnell Holmes, was arrested July 6 and charged with six gun and drug-related charges after police recovered a loaded gun, a digital scale and heroin from the glove box of her Honda Accord. Holmes is not cooperating with investigators.
Hayes’ death is the latest in a long line of child killings in Baltimore in which investigations were obstructed by witnesses or people who police said were withholding information.
There are various reasons people will not cooperate, ranging from fear retaliation, distrust of police to keep them safe, dislike of police, or the desire to seek revenge themselves.
In 2014, 3-year-old McKenzie Elliott was killed when she was struck by a stray bullet while two other people were shot and survived. It wasn’t until April 2017 that an arrest was made in connection with that killing.
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Terrell Plummer, an alleged neighborhood gang member, was charged in federal court in the toddler’s murder. The case is pending and all records in the case have been sealed by the court.
In 2013, 1-year-old Carter Scott was shot to death in the back seat of a car – in a fashion similar to Taylor Hayes – after police say his father, Rashaw Scott, had been lured to a parking lot.
Scott refused to appear in court to testify against the five men accused in his son’s killing until a judge issued a bench warrant.
On the stand, he declined to corroborate an initial statement he had made to investigators alleging a friend had set him up.
“I don’t remember,” he told a prosecutor at trial when asked about a photo lineup with his signature on it. “That could be anybody’s. It could be yours. I’m not an analyst.”
All five men charged in the boy’s death were eventually convicted.
Baltimore police released a video on July 7 of a white Mercedes-Benz that was seen in the area of the shooting that fatally injured Taylor. Officials have urged the driver of the car to turn themselves in.
It does little to help ease the pain of Taylor’s death. She was well-known in the community and her death has hit especially hard.
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“Taylor made waking up early to go read to her a joy for me,” said Carrie Wells, a former Baltimore Sun reporter who read to Taylor. “She would beg to play games like Go Fish, and it was hard to say no to her because of the way her eyes would light up when you would say yes.”
“I’m truly heartbroken,” Wells said, “and I hope people can surround her family with love and support during this unimaginable tragedy.”
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