Shootings Thursday night and yesterday left two people dead and six others wounded in a night of violence on Baltimore streets that raised this year's homicide toll to 138.
Among the wounded was a 34-year-old man who was shot in the arm as he delivered newspapers for The Sun in the Clifton Park neighborhood of Northeast Baltimore.
There have been 28 more homicides this year in the city than at this time last year, which was the 10th consecutive year with more than 300 homicides.
Yesterday about 4 p.m., Clarence James Barksdale, 30, of the 2800 block of Harlem Ave. was shot in the back of the head in an apparent drug dispute in an alley off the 1200 block of W. Lafayette Ave. He was in critical condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
Deputy Commissioner Barry W. Powell sped to the scene in West Baltimore and shook his head as he talked about the latest outbreak of violence. "We got to get rid of this," he said, pointing to the alley.
The newspaper carrier, Edwin Jerome Jones of Cockeysville, told police that he was confronted by an armed teen-ager while making deliveries in the 2700 block of Fenwick Ave., just off Harford Road across from Clifton Park.
Jones was out of his car shortly after 4 a.m. when the youth approached and, according to a police report, yelled, "'Hold it, hold it. Don't move your car.'" Jones got in and started to drive away and was shot once through the front window.
The bullet struck his right arm and traveled into his upper right chest. He drove himself to Maryland General Hospital and was later transferred to University of Maryland Medical Center for surgery.
"It is absolutely outrageous that a newspaper carrier can't deliver newspapers in this city without being wounded by gun-crazed thugs," said Sun Publisher Michael E. Waller.
The Sun is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. . Police said yesterday that they were searching for the gunman.
Jones' shooting ended a night of violence. About 7:50 p.m. Thursday, Michael Rice, 23, was shot and killed outside an apartment building in the 5600 block of Haddon Ave. in Northwest Baltimore. Police said he was shot at least four times after being seen talking with another man.
About 8:30 p.m., police said, three people were shot in the 1900 block of Ridgehill Ave. in West Baltimore. Kevin Sanders, 29, of the 2900 block of Woodland Ave., was pronounced dead at the scene. Jermaine Jackson, 23, who lives two blocks from the shooting scene, was in critical condition yesterday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. A third victim ran from the scene and has not been found by police.
Police said the shooting occurred after an altercation involving several people. No arrests have been made.
Later Thursday night, police said, a man was shot in the abdomen in East Baltimore and a woman was shot in the buttocks while standing on a street corner in Northwest Baltimore. Neither victim was thought to have life-threatening wounds.