In the midst of a violence-filled two weeks, Mayor Sheila Dixon made an appearance last night at the Southwestern District's Police Community Relations Council. She noted that the city is posting crime numbers comparible to lows three decades ago, but also lamented a spate of killings -- 13 slayings in the past 10 days -- that has claimed the lives of two teen-agers and a pizza delivery man, who was shot in Southwest Baltimore. In the same district, four people were shot Monday night when a gunman burst into a home.

Earlier this year, Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III ousted the commander of the Southwestern after a spike in crime. It is also where Dixon lives.

My colleague, police reporter Justin Fenton, was there.

"Baltimore is in the midst of its worst stretch of violence in a long time," Dixon told the residents. It disturbs me the same way it disturbs you. Some of the cases, even if we had a police officer on every corner, we still wouldn't be able to solve what happened."

Residents praised Dixon and Southwest District Maj. Anthony Brown, who said police have strong leads in the shooting death of the pizza delivery driver, 22-year-old Adama Diara. The city has recorded 207 homicides so far this year, down about 25 percent from the same period last year.
 
Dixon said she would push stronger gun laws during the next legislative session in Annapolis to  eliminate early prison release credits for criminals who commit gun offenses. State Del. Sandy Rosenberg, who is on the House judiciary committee, and Del. Nathaniel T. Oaks also attended the meeting. 

"It's just getting ridiculous out there," Dixon said. "People getting access to guns, weapons in the city. People can talk about their first and second amendment rights, but it's gotten crazy."

Later, a resident said he thought they shouldn't focus on gun laws but sticking it criminals, and Dixon clarified: "Their time gets reduced, and then they get back out, and it shows when they commit crimes over and over. So we're saying, hold it. [If] they get locked up for a crime with a weapon, let them pay their time. They should not get good behavior credit."

Dixon, as she has often, talked more about her son, who is in middle school. The mayor mentioned him last week after a student was charged with fatally stabbing another student at Lemmel Middle School in Northwest Baltimore. The suspect's attorney has said his client was repeatedly taunted by the victim.

"I just can't even conceive of being so angry with somebody and stabbing them," the mayor said. "That's intentional, taking somebody's life. Something internally is affecting that child, and to me, it's -- I have a son that age, in the 8th grade -- so it's like, we've gotta do a reversal."