FBI raids Bel Air-Edison Safe Streets location over possible gang affiliation.

BALTIMORE — The FBI raided the Belair-Edison site of Baltimore’s anti-violence program Safe Streets, WJZ has learned.

A spokesperson for the FBI said the agency was “conducting court-authorized activity” at the location, which is in the 3400 block of Belair Road.

The scope of the investigation was not immediately clear.

Safe Streets was formed in Baltimore’s McElderry Park neighborhood in 2007. The gun violence reduction program uses “violence interrupters.” These are people who are known in the community. The violence interrupters are tasked with mediating disputes before they turn deadly.

The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, more commonly known as MONSE, oversees the program.

Johns Hopkins researchers said in a report released this year that they have documented a more than 20% decrease in homicides and non-fatal shootings in neighborhoods where Safe Streets has a presence.

Baltimore City Councilman Eric Costello targeted MONSE’s former director, Shantay Jackson, in a social media post following the raid.