WASHINGTON 鈥� The Anne Arundel County police said that three bodies have been discovered in the county, that the deaths are gang-related, and multiple suspects have been arrested in the deaths.
Other than that, Chief Timothy Altomare said at a Friday afternoon news conference that there aren’t many details he can release.
But he implored residents to come forward with any information they may have on the deaths, and about gang activity in the county in general.
鈥淔rom the bottom of my heart,” Altomare said, “If you鈥檙e in fear, if you think a gang wants to hurt you, I鈥檓 begging you to come and talk to us.鈥� He added, “Your lives matter to us. … We will move heaven and earth to get you the help you need if you need help to stay safe.”
He called on residents to call 911 or the county’s gang tip line at 410-222-4700. And 鈥渋f you just think you might have a piece of a puzzle that might put a bad guy away before they hurt somebody,鈥� call 410-222-4117.
Those who call those numbers, Altomare said, will be directly linked to an alert system 鈥渟o it doesn鈥檛 sit for 12, 14, 18 hours.鈥� They鈥檒l get a call back from the police and will get 鈥渢he help you need.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna spend the money we need,鈥� Altomare said. 鈥溾�� We鈥檒l put you somewhere safe, and we鈥檒l make you safe.鈥�
鈥淚f you live in fear, we want to stop it,” Altomare said. “We won鈥檛 desert you and we鈥檒l be there for you.鈥� Asked whether people’s immigration status should be a factor in whether they come forward, he said he 鈥渃ould [not] care less about people鈥檚 status. It鈥檚 not my business; it鈥檚 not my job. I鈥檓 here to help people stay safe, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to do. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.” He added that he has “no idea” whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement have detainers on any of the suspects.
About the lack of details in his briefing, Altomare said, “My reticence is directly related to trying to keep people alive.” He said he would have more details聽鈥渁s soon as I can do it without getting somebody hurt.鈥�
The chief asked residents to be on the lookout for signs of gang activity, even in places where it might not seem likely.
鈥淭here is a gang presence in every community in Anne Arundel County,鈥� Altomare said. 鈥淔or a lot of years, we didn鈥檛 talk about it; for a lot of years we were discouraged from talking about it.鈥�
If a resident sees graffiti that might even possibly be gang-related, Altomare said, 鈥淐all. I鈥檝e got pros; they鈥檒l come out and look at graffiti and tell you if it鈥檚 gang-related. Whether it鈥檚 at the Brooklyn line 鈥� or in South County. And guys?鈥� he said, addressing reporters. 鈥淲e have gang graffiti in South County. All the way to the Calvert County line.鈥�
However, 鈥淎 presence doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檝e taken over,鈥� Altomare declared. “We’re gonna nail it down.”
Editor’s Note: A correction has been made to this story. The police would not say where the bodies were found.
