MD Governor Seeks 'Any Kind Of Possible Solutions' to Baltimore Violence

With homicides in Baltimore occurring at a historic rate, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday he will meet with Mayor Catherine Pugh to discuss how the state could help, reports the Baltimore Sun .

The governor blamed the heroin trade and lax gun crime sentencing for driving violence that has killed 180 people in the city this year.

Hogan, a Republican, ruled out sending in the National Guard or having Maryland State Police patrol city streets. He said the state has already provided the city with $64 million since 2015 to aid crime fighting and designated $50 million more to address the statewide opioid epidemic.

"We've invested a tremendous amount of money there, more than any other place in the state," Hogan said of Baltimore during a brief interview. "It hasn't really worked."

"We're open to any kind of possible solutions that anyone wants to talk about," he said.

Hogan said the Maryland State Police were not trained or equipped "to do inner city, urban policing," but he plans to offer Pugh state troopers who could aid with investigations and crime lab work.