Hagerstown crime concerns bring turnout to community town hall

HAGERSTOWN, Md. ( DC News Now ) — Fatal gunfire in Hagerstown during broad daylight a few weeks ago has the city looking for solutions to rising crime, and community leaders hope their town hall at the main branch of the Washington County Public Library will help.

State Sen. Paul Corderman, R- Washington, said crime prevention must be a higher priority.

“This is a call to action,” Corderman proclaimed. “I wrote the mayor and city council layout out concerns and this town hall will continue that conversation.”

Attending the town hall was Angie Frey, whose husband, Mark, died two years ago in a workplace shooting in nearby Smithsburg.

“You never think such a thing could happen,” said Frey. “But it’s no longer something we just see on television. It’s here and it’s real.”

One woman at the meeting told DC News Now that the crime in the area concerns her, stating, “I mean, I hate to say it but it’s gotten out of control, It’s getting out of control and there are young people!”

Washington County Commission president John Barr has high praise for law enforcement. He said the emphasis should be on crime prevention .

“The perpetrators have all been apprehended, and fairly quickly too. Sometimes within minutes,” Barr noted. “So we’ve got to figure out the root causes behind the crime.”

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