Three people injured in two shootings in Baltimore

Three people were injured in two shootings on opposite sides of Baltimore on Saturday morning, according to Baltimore police. A man was found shot in the chest in the 2200 block of Orem Ave. in the Parkview/Woodbrook neighborhood near Druid Hill Park in West Baltimore at 2:34 a.m. Officers had gone to that area after receiving a report of a shooting. The man was taken to a hospital, but his condition was not known. Then at 10:27 a.m., officers got another call for a shooting, in the 2400 block of E. Fayette St. in McElderry Park in East Baltimore. There they found a 22-year-old woman who had been shot in the hip and a 43-year-old man who had been shot in the thigh. Both were taken to a hospital to be treated.

— Pamela Wood

Maryland City house fire displaces eight people

Just days before Christmas, fire departments from four jurisdictions battled a Maryland City house fire that left four adults and four children displaced, officials said. At 5:28 a.m. Friday, firefighters responded to a house fire in the 3300 block of Crumpton South, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department said in a news release Saturday. Occupants of the house called 911 to report a fire in a bedroom, but all were able to escape before firefighters arrived. There were no injuries, according to the Anne Arundel department. Firefighters saw fire coming from a window in the front of the one-story ranch house and heavy fire coming from the basement in the back of the home, the release said. Neighbors said they were awakened by the sound of an explosion at the home. “It woke all of us up,” said Martin Greenway, who lives across the street. “There were people three streets away that felt it and heard it. It was enough to shake our house.” Greenway said smoke was pouring from the home and, within minutes, flames were shooting out of the windows. “It spread really, really fast,” he said. It took 35 minutes and 42 firefighters from Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Howard counties along with Fort George G. Meade to bring the fire under control, according to the release. The Anne Arundel County Fire and Explosives Investigation Unit determined that it was an accidental fire with the cause still under investigation. Damages are estimated at $115,000. The four adults and four children who were displaced are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

— Baltimore Sun staff

State reaches contract

with health care workers

Gov. Larry Hogan announced Friday that a contract deal has been reached with about 1,500 state health care workers. The agreement with the American Federation of Teachers-Healthcare Maryland will grant the members of that union a 3 percent cost of living increase on July 1, followed by another 1 percent increase in 2020 — contingent upon state revenues exceeding projections by $75 million. Some of the employees, including addiction counselors, epidemiologists, mental health counselors and nurses, will receive an additional 6 percent increase “to assist with state recruitment and retention efforts,” according to the governor’s office.

— Pamela Wood