Salisbury is in the middle of a gang war: State’s attorney addresses juvenile crime.

As Maryland battles juvenile crime, Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes joined her counterparts from around the state to voice their concerns in Annapolis.

“Salisbury is in the middle of a gang war,” said Dykes in her testimony. “You have charged law enforcement with keeping the peace and protecting the community – all while their hands are tied behind their backs.”

Dykes was joined on Wednesday by state’s attorneys from Montgomery County and Howard County and deputy state’s Attorneys from Baltimore City and Charles County as they briefed the Judiciary Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates on the concerning increase in juvenile crime.

Dykes’ comments focused on the effects of the Child Interrogation Protection Act, enacted last year. In Dykes’ view, the act eliminated the ability of law enforcement to interview juvenile suspects – with devastating effects on their ability to investigate crime.

“It is our children who are more likely to be killed by juveniles wielding guns,” said Dykes, pointing to an incident in April that left one child dead and another charged with his murder. She advised the Judiciary Committee that, since that incident, “Salisbury has had 13 related shootings with numerous other victims.”

This violence culminated in Salisbury’s first mass shooting in the early morning of July 5 which left a 15-year-old boy dead and seven others wounded, including two children.