6-year-old boy found dead after shooting in Southwest Baltimore home

A 6-year-old boy was found shot and killed in Southwest Baltimore on Saturday afternoon, per the Baltimore City Police Department. 

According to BPD, a call came in around 2:45 p.m. for a shooting at the 800 block of Vine Street.

When officers arrived, they discovered a gun and the body of 6-year-old Micah Comegys, who had a single gunshot wound, inside a home. 

"No one else was inside the house at the time the officers arrived," Police Commissioner Richard Worley said.

Police believe the single shot was fired from inside the residence. The fatal shooting is being investigated as a questionable death.

"Homicide detectives are investigating this incident and working to determine what happened leading up to the incident," Worley added. 

According to Commissioner Worley, it's unclear at this time if the boy shot himself or if someone shot him. 

"I can tell you what we will find is that whoever owns the gun, if it wasn't properly stored, they will be prosecuted to the best of our ability," Worley stated.

Baltimore City Public Schools confirmed that Comegys was a student at Mary E. Rodman Elementary School.

Neighbors react

Neighbors in the area said they were surprised to hear that a child had died.

One neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said he just moved to the neighborhood a couple of days ago. He said he heard commotion outside and noticed the large police presence. 

He even said he heard someone screaming and crying.

Another woman, who also didn't want to be identified, said she was waiting to pick up her child on Vine Street. She told WJZ that it's disheartening to hear a child lost their life. 

"We have a family and a community dealing with the death of another young person in our community," Worley said. "Our hearts and prayers are with the family and the community."

Victim services and peer support were at the scene to assist community members and officers.

Baltimore sees historically low number of homicides

Comegys' death comes just after Baltimore saw a historically low number of monthly homicides, with just five reported in April 2025. 

The city saw a 61.5% drop in homicides in one year, as Baltimore Police reported 13 cases in April 2024. 

The city's dramatic drop in violent crime can also be seen in cases of gun violence against minors. 

WJZ's Gun Violence Tracker shows that 389 children and teens in the city faced threats from gun violence in 2024. 46 of those incidents involved children between one and 12 years old. 

In 2023, there were 499 instances of gun violence against juveniles, according to the tracker. That's a 22% drop between 2023 and 2024.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has used his Summer Youth Engagement Strategy as a crime deterrent for kids and teens. The summer initiative involved a curfew and a lineup of events in safe environments. 

The mayor said the youth engagement strategy has helped prevent instances of youth violence and victimization during the past two summers.