BALTIMORE, MD (Thursday, July 1, 2021) — Mayor Brandon M. Scott  and Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement Director Shantay Jackson have issued statements in response to the Safe Streets Cherry Hill outreach worker Kenyell Wilson, who was fatally shot this evening:

“Safe Streets has a special place in my heart and I consider the Violence Interrupters who bravely serve this program as a part of my family. Tonight, our brother Kenyell Wilson became a victim of the gun violence he worked every day to prevent. I am deeply saddened and angered that “Benny’s” life was taken in a weak cowardly act,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “I have spoken with Commissioner Harrison and directed him to make apprehending the individual or individuals responsible for taking the life of one of our prime examples of changing your life a top priority.  I ask that you keep Kenyell’s family and his Safe Streets family in your prayers and reflect on ways that you can continue the work of our fallen soldier in your own community. My administration will continue to support Safe Streets and community-based violence interventions like it. We will not be deterred from doing so and will further invest in these interventions that work and will continue to be central to my comprehensive strategy to reduce violence in Baltimore.”

"The MONSE and extended Safe Streets family are devastated by this senseless loss of life. As someone who turned their life around to do the work of curing Cherry Hill of violence, “Benny” epitomized redemption. While he has transitioned physically, his light will never leave us and it guides us as we continue the critical work of interrupting violence in our neighborhoods," said Shantay Jackson, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE).