On opposite sides of one square block in East Baltimore Wednesday night, two families grieved.
On one side, the 1400 block of N. Luzerne Ave., family and friends lit candles at the spot where 16-year-old Charles Bowman was gunned down on March 27.
On the other, the 1400 block of N. Lakewood Ave., family and friends hung balloons and lit candles at the spot where Gregory Wilson, 20, was slain last August. They were here to commemorate what would have been Wilson's 21st birthday.
One family sorting through a flood of emotions, another still searching for answers seven months later.
Bowman's loved ones have been keeping vigil for the past several days; on Wednesday, dozens of candles were placed at the base of a tree along with roses and a big teddy bear as a group of about 10 people, mostly young girls, looked on.
"It's think it's like, a tradition in urban neighborhoods," said sister Andrea Brockington, 23.
Brockington said the viewing and funeral will take place in the coming days. "It's getting harder and harder. We're not ready to say goodbye," she said. "We don't understand. He didn't do anything to anybody. He was always smiling."
She insisted Bowman was not involved in gang activity or drugs, though law enforcement sources say he was committed to the Department of Juvenile Services (Juvenile records are sealed in Maryland, and the charges were unclear). A friend, who would identify himself only as a rapper named
, said Bowman was always "icy" - looking his best - and didn't need to sell drugs to do it. "He was the freshest n---a out here, and he ain't selling s--t," Champ said."We miss him like crazy. They didn't have to do what they did," Brockington said.
She said Bowman will be buried on top of his mother, who died in 2002, in a plot in Randallstown.
Around the corner, Wilson's family and friends were just wrapping up a vigil to mark his birthday. Wilson was shot to death on Aug. 11, 2009, and Mylar balloons, candles and a bottle of alcohol were left on a utility pole.
"It was a celebration," said a woman who identified herself as a sister before climbing into a car. "He was a good guy. It wasn't meant for him."
A few men hung around. One of them, Wilson's godfather, said he was on the scene right after the shots were fired and saw Wilson suffering.
"I haven't been right since," he said.
Like Bowman, Wilson's friends said he was a father one of one - and also had another child on the way - and was interested in music. They said violence in their neighborhood was common - one man said there had been a shooting earlier in the day - but "it's a lot different when its this close to home."
"You never get used to it, but at the same times, its just something that happens," one of the men said.