CAMBRIDGE, Md. - A grieving community wanting the violence to end.
The violence across Cambridge spanned for three hours last night with police responding to at least two scenes.
The first call came in around 7 p.m. to the area of Pleasant and Race streets.
Responding officers found 24-year-old Taijay Daniels. He was shot several times after he was robbed at gunpoint. Daniels later died at the hospital.
Police say 69-year-old Lory Fields was shot in the head in front of his home on High St. around 10 p.m. Fields died at the scene.
Now, Cambridge and Maryland State Police are sifting through all of the evidence. But, the lives that were lost are sending ripples of anger and grief through the Cambridge Community.
Those in the community say they're tired of the violence in Cambridge.
Community member Greg Meekins says, "It’s painful when you have to tell someone, again, 'you have my condolences.' It’s become kind of a new normal. And that’s not normal.
Meekins says he went to school with Fields. And today, he feels numb. "It should break all of our hearts with anybody who has to die violently. Whether we know them or not, the question is what are we do to put ourselves back together," says Meekins.
Meekins added, "I go back to the words of Martin Luther King when he says 'the death of any man diminishes me.' I have carried that with me for years. It should diminish us as a community, as a state, and as a nation. Anytime somebody dies violently, we’ve got to address the gun violence."
Cambridge Police Chief, Justin Todd, says these crimes are not welcome in Cambridge.
"These individuals that are out here doing the crimes need to know they’re not going to do it here. We’re going to have to find answers and find a way to get to these individuals and make our city streets safer. There will be no rest here at the police department until we accomplish that," says Todd. He adds, "This kind of act is senseless, it’s brutal, and there is no place for it in Cambridge or anywhere else."
Todd says they're tired of the violence. "I believe I speak for the city of Cambridge when I say we're tired of it. We're tired of the cowardly acts. They are uncalled for. Nobody has to die in the street and we need to find a way to combat that," says Todd.
Harrington also added, "I'm absolutely appalled by the events of last night. my heart goes out to not only the victims and their family, but the community as a whole. Cambridge deserves better than this and is better than this. I want to make one thing absolutely clear: if you glorify this senseless violence, we don't want you here. If you enable this kind of behavior, we don't want you here. If you know something but don't help to bring violent criminals to justice, we do not want you here."
"Policing is only half the battle, we can't solve these issues without the help of the community. If you know something say something. There is absolutely no reason to protect these monsters that hide among us. It's not snitching, it's protecting the lives of your parents, your sons and daughters, your brothers and sisters and yourself," said Harrington.
A grieving community wanting the violence to end.
Cambridge Police and Maryland State Police are treating both murders as separate cases. Both are open investigations.
