3 killed, 2 injured in Baltimore gun violence

Three men have been killed and two others were injured in a shooting in Baltimore, Maryland, amid a sharp rise in the homicide rate in the predominantly African American city.

Baltimore police say they were patrolling on Thursday night when they heard gunshots, and they then found three victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

One of the men died at the scene and two other victims died after being taken to area hospitals.

Police are investigating the incident and have not released a motive for the shooting or identified the victims.

Two more people were injured in separate shootings Friday, according to police.

Baltimore recorded its 200th homicide of the year early in August, a dramatic rise in gun violence from 2014 when the city recorded 211 killings during the whole year.

A total of 43 people were killed in Baltimore during May, making it the deadliest month in over 40 years.

Police have struggled to stop the growing violence in the city since the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, an unarmed African American man who died in police custody on April 19.

Gray’s death resulted in several weeks of demonstrations across the US to protest police brutality against African Americans.

After Gray’s funeral on April 27, civil unrest intensified in Baltimore with looting and burning of local businesses, culminating with a state of emergency declaration by Governor Lawrence Hogan, deployment of the Maryland National Guard and the establishment of a curfew.