CAMBRIDGE, Md. - There is a growing sense of alarm in Cambridge.
After a homicide early Friday morning, neighbors are looking to the City of Cambridge to address the violence in the city.
Last year, homicides almost doubled from 2021, and some fear this has become the norm.
Both Cambridge Police Department and the Mayor can agree that violence in their city is a problem. Mayor Steve Rideout says they have youth programs to keep them out of trouble and harms way and they are looking into more.
Cambridge Police Chief Justin Todd says, "they have no regard for anyone. They have no regard for the person they are firing at, but they also have no regard for the neighborhood in which they are causing harm to."
Todd added there is no place for it in Cambridge. He says, "gun violence is a problem throughout the country but when it hits home in a small cities, such Cambridge on the eastern shore, it's for a little bit more. We had seven murderers last year we have a population of a little over 13,000 people that's way too many.
Mayor Steve Rideout is just as outraged. He says the best solution is to work with the youth in Cambridge early, through existing and new programs.
"It's where they will learn and grow in ways that are positive that will take them away from hanging out with the gangs and the kids that are the troublemakers that are trying to draw them in a different direction."
Rideout says volunteers can be a key element to a better life for everyone.
"We're working towards building a better community, building a more holistic community, building a community that loves one another and working with one another is supporting one another is listening to one another all of which we need here desperately."
Cambridge with heavy hearts once again.