Brooklyn Day shooting families sue Housing Authority of Baltimore City, alleging negligence
NEWS AT FIVE CONTINUES. WHEN YOU HAVE PRIDE IN YOUR COMMUNITY AND YOU WALK WITH DIGNITY, YOU ARE NOT GOING OUT AND KILLING SOMEONE. BROOKLYN DAY ONE YEAR LATER. AS SEEN FROM THE MOTHER OF ONE OF THE VICTIMS AND THREE OTHERS, IMPACTED DEEPLY BY THE WORST MASS SHOOTING IN BALTIMORE HISTORY. TOMORROW MARKS THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF A COLOSSAL TRAGEDY IN SOUTH BALTIMORE. IT WAS A TRAGEDY THAT, BY THE NUMBERS, STILL REMAINS HARD TO FATHOM. EXACTLY 28 WOUNDED, TWO KILLED, 18 YEAR OLD AALIYAH GONZALEZ AND 20 YEAR OLD KYLA FAGBEMI AND THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF THIS DAY IS MASSIVE. 11 NEWS ANCHOR DEBORAH WEINER TAKES A LOOK AT FOUR LIVES FOREVER CHANGED. DEBORAH IS JOINING US NOW. DEB WELL, ASHLEY AND JASON, IT IS PROBABLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CALCULATE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THIS MASS SHOOTING. JUST IMPOSSIBLE. BUT TONIGHT, ON THE EVE OF THIS ANNIVERSARY, WE FOCUS ON FOUR OF THEM, AND I’M TRYING TO LOCATE THE ADDRESS. OKAY, IT’S HOME. OKAY. OH. THEY SHOOTING AGAIN? OKAY. GET DOWN! MA’AM, GET DOWN. CAN YOU PLEASE. YOU GUYS HOLD YOU GUYS HOLD. WE GOTTA GET HIM UPRIGHT. GOTTA GET HIM IN THERE. OKAY? I NEED YOU TO FIGHT. COME ON. I NEED YOU TO FIGHT. COME ON, BRO, THIS MASS SHOOTING IS ONE OF THE MOST PAINFUL CHAPTERS IN OUR CITY’S HISTORY. BY NOW, WE KNOW THAT CHAPTER, THE WIDESPREAD FAILINGS AND THE WOEFUL FRUSTRATIONS. BUT HERE IS PART OF THE REST OF THE STORY. FROM SOME OF THOSE CHANGED FOREVER IN THE LAST YEAR. OOH, WHO’S THAT LADY? HEY, 17 CELL PHONE VIDEOS OF COLLEGE BOUND 18 YEAR OLD AALIYAH GONZALEZ ARE BOTH THE GREATEST GIFT AND THE WORST GUT PUNCH FOR HER MOTHER, CRYSTAL. THE TWO WERE SO VERY CLOSE. MOST KIDS RUN FROM THEIR PARENTS. AALIYAH RAN TO ME. THE GLEN BURNIE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE WAS A TALENTED ARTIST LIKE HER FATHER. HER SELF-PORTRAIT CAPTURES A SERIOUS SIDE A SKETCH WITH HER DAD, THE LITTLE GIRL SIDE, A SHELF IN THE FAMILY HOME THAT USED TO HOLD BOOKS. NOW HOLDS ONLY AALIYAH. I MEAN, SHE HAD EVERY RIGHT TO GO OUT AND HAVE FUN, AND I TOLD HER EVEN IN HER PASSING, BABY, YOU DID NOTHING WRONG. NONE OF THOSE KIDS DID ANYTHING WRONG. WHAT’S WRONG? CRYSTAL BELIEVES, IS ACCEPTING THE NORM AS NORMAL. YOUR LEVEL OF TOLERANCE IS WHAT KEEPS THE VIOLENCE GOING. THE MORE YOU TOLERATE THIS, THE MORE CONTINUES. WHILE FIVE YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ARRESTED, NO ONE HAS YET BEEN CHARGED WITH MURDER. I CAN’T LIVE WORRYING ABOUT HOW THESE BOYS WILL SPEND THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. I’VE GOT TO. FOCUS ON HOW I’M GOING TO HONOR AALIYAH’S LIFE AND HER LEGACY ON THE BASKETBALL COURT. 18 SAFE STREETS DIRECTOR COREY WINFIELD IS LASER FOCUSED ON BROOKLYN WHILE STILL COMING TO GRIPS WITH WHAT HAPPENED ON BROOKLYN DAY. YEAH, IT WAS OVER A YEAR BEFORE ANYBODY FIRED A GUN IN BROOKLYN HOMES, SO I WASN’T EXPECTING THAT PART OF COREY’S JOB IS KEEPING THE REALLY SMALL STUFF FROM BECOMING THE REALLY BAD STUFF. DEATH IS STEPPING ON YOUR SHOES MIGHT CAUSE YOU TO LOSE YOUR LIFE. YEAH, RIGHT. WE KNOW THAT. SHOULDN’T THAT SHOULDN’T HAPPEN. BUT HERE IT DOES. IS THAT HOW IT BEGAN? A YEAR AGO? UNCLEAR, BUT AT LEAST 28 PEOPLE ARE LIVING WITH THAT TRAUMA AS SURVIVORS. OFTEN CALLED UPON AS AN EXPERT ON GUN VIOLENCE. COREY CHAMPIONS THE SAFE STREETS PROGRAM THAT REGULARLY BRINGS THERAPISTS TO BROOKLYN. I NEED SOMEBODY TO LOOK LIKE ME TO FEEL COMFORTABLE, TO SIT DOWN BECAUSE THEY LOOK LIKE THEM, TO HAVE THOSE KIND OF CONVERSATIONS. MORE THAN 40 YEARS PRACTICING LAW AND A CALL FROM A GRANDMOTHER BROUGHT WARREN BROWN AMONG HIS YOUNGEST CLIENTS EVER, JUST 15, ABLE TO GET A GUN BUT UNABLE TO READ A BOOK. NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU SEE IT, THERE’S STILL A STENCH IN YOUR NOSTRILS THAT THAT THAT IS HARD TO DEAL WITH WHEN YOU SEE THIS YOUNG LIFE AND THE PROSPECTS ARE VERY DIM FOR A DECENT LIFE. THE TEENAGER, THE YOUNGEST CHARGED IN THIS CASE, IS SERVING A FIVE YEAR SENTENCE IN JUVENILE DETENTION FOR ASSAULT AND POSSESSION OF A HANDGUN BY A MINOR. THERE WAS NO, UH, POLICE PRESENCE THERE. AND SO I THINK THERE WAS A GENERAL FEELING THAT OF ANARCHY, IF YOU WILL. I DON’T THINK IT WAS ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT THAT TRIGGERED IT. AND THAT’S OFTENTIMES THE CASE THAT IS OFTENTIMES THE CASE. BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER FELICIA PORTER SERVES 13 COMMUNITIES IN DISTRICT TEN, INCLUDING BROOKLYN. WE HAVE A SPOTLIGHT ON A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING IN SOUTH BALTIMORE FOR GENERATIONS. TRAGEDY HAS TURNED TO PURPOSE WITH A RENEWED FOCUS ON POLICING, PUBLIC HEALTH, BACON, HOMES AND FOOD ACCESS. WITH MANY GROUPS WORKING TOGETHER. AND THEY’VE REALLY BANDED TOGETHER. UM, BANDED TOGETHER TO NOT ONLY JUST PRESERVE THEIR COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO UPLIFT THEIR COMMUNITY, WHICH HASN’T HAPPENED IN GENERATIONS. ONE YEAR LATER AND BACK IN BROOKLYN, HOMES VICTIMS WILL BE HONORED WITH A DAY OF HEALING AND WELLNESS AT THE SAME SPOT WHERE THE MASS SHOOTING UNFOLDED. I WANT THERE TO BE JOY WITHIN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, AND WE CAN DO THAT. WE CAN DO THAT IN A SAFE WAY AT THE SAME TIME, IN GLEN BURNIE, CRYSTAL GONZALES AND HER FAMILY WILL BE HOSTING AALIYAH DAY, A CELEBRATION OF LIFE WITH PLENTY OF SECURITY. EVERYTHING BROOKLYN DAY WAS NOT AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE, UM, WE HAVE TO DO IT THE RIGHT WAY FOR THE FAMILIES OF BALTIMORE CITY, FOR THE COMMUNITIES AND THE POSITIVE INFLUENCE THAT WE’RE TRYING TO MOVE BALTIMORE TOWARD. I PRAY THAT THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN AGAIN. THE MOTHER, THE PEACEKEEPER, THE LAWYER, AND THE LAWMAKER PERMANENTLY CHANGED. IN A YEAR THAT FEELS BOTH LIKE A CENTURY AND YET ONLY YESTERDAY. TOMORROW’S EVENT IN ALIYAH’S HONOR IS PUT ON BY A NEW NONPROFIT THAT CRYSTAL STARTED. IT IS CALLED REDIRECTING OUR CULTURE, SHE SAYS. IT IS MEANT TO RESTORE PRINCIPL
Brooklyn Day shooting families sue Housing Authority of Baltimore City, alleging negligence
Updated: 3:42 PM EDT Jul 15, 2026
The families who lost loved ones in the 2023 Brooklyn Day mass shooting are suing the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.| VIDEO ABOVE: Baltimore mass shooting as seen from lives forever changed (July 2024)The July 2, 2023, shooting in South Baltimore killed Aaliyah Gonzalez, 18, and Kylis Fagbemi, 20, and injured 28 others when a group of gunmen opened fire on crowds gathered for the annual celebration.According to the newly released lawsuit obtained by WBAL-TV 11 News, the victims’ parents allege the housing authority was negligent, arguing that security could have prevented the tragedy or assisted with the initial response.| LAWSUIT: Read the court document (PDF)They also argue the housing authority had a duty to monitor its properties regardless of whether permits were filed.Four survivors have filed similar cases.To date, no one has been charged with murder in connection with the shooting. In 2024, three youths pleaded guilty to assault and gun charges, and 12 members of the Baltimore Police Department faced disciplinary actions.11 TV Hill video below: Helping Brooklyn heal year after mass shooting
BALTIMORE —
The families who lost loved ones in the 2023 Brooklyn Day mass shooting are suing the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.
| VIDEO ABOVE: Baltimore mass shooting as seen from lives forever changed (July 2024)
The July 2, 2023, shooting in South Baltimore killed Aaliyah Gonzalez, 18, and Kylis Fagbemi, 20, and injured 28 others when a group of gunmen opened fire on crowds gathered for the annual celebration.
According to the newly released lawsuit obtained by WBAL-TV 11 News, the victims’ parents allege the housing authority was negligent, arguing that security could have prevented the tragedy or assisted with the initial response.
| LAWSUIT: Read the court document (PDF)
They also argue the housing authority had a duty to monitor its properties regardless of whether permits were filed.
Four survivors have filed similar cases.
To date, no one has been charged with murder in connection with the shooting. In 2024, three youths pleaded guilty to assault and gun charges, and 12 members of the Baltimore Police Department faced disciplinary actions.
11 TV Hill video below: Helping Brooklyn heal year after mass shooting