TO GO WITH AFP STORY US-CRIME-BALTIMORE...

Baltimore, UNITED STATES: TO GO WITH AFP STORY US-CRIME-BALTIMORE Police officers with guns drawn run toward the court yard of the Pedestal Gardens Apartments where a barrage of gun fire was heard, an incident later attributed to gang violence in the area 01 June, 2007 on the west side of Baltimore, Maryland. Police were able to respond quickly because half a dozen officers were across the street participating in a gun buy-back program sponsored by a local church. If the pattern continues for the rest of 2007, then Baltimore will surpass its grim 1999 record, when 300 people were killed in gun incidents in the decaying industrial city in the state of Maryland. Last year 276 people died from bullet wounds. AFP PHOTO / TIM SLOAN (Photo credit should read TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images)