Deonate Smith was 15 years old when he was stabbed in downtown Baltimore on Tuesday, February 5, 2013. The attack happened in the unit block of North Howard Street, and he did not survive his wounds. The Baltimore Police Department investigated his death, and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists it as a homicide.
The few details on record come from that database. It gives the time of the incident as 2:20 p.m. and it carries a two-word note from Sun reporters: "Triple stabbing."
That note suggests that Deonate was one of three people stabbed in the same incident, and that the other two may have survived, though the record does not name them or describe their injuries. It does not say what led to the violence, whether the people involved knew one another, or whether the stabbing happened on the sidewalk, at a transit stop or inside a building. His name also appears on a memorial list of the people killed in Baltimore in 2013, kept by a local prayer ministry, where he is listed simply as "Deonate Smith-age 15."
Beyond his name, his age and the block where he was found, almost nothing about Deonate Smith has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the death in detail. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record. For a 15-year-old, that silence is striking. No school statement, vigil or memorial for him could be found.
Because so little has been released, many basic questions remain open. The record does not say whether Deonate died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether a weapon was found, whether anyone was detained near the scene, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect. If three people were stabbed in the middle of the afternoon on a downtown street, it is likely that someone saw at least part of what happened, but no account from a witness has been made public.
North Howard Street runs through the heart of downtown Baltimore, near the city's central business district and its old retail corridor, and the Baltimore light rail line runs along the street. On a weekday afternoon the area is typically busy with commuters, shoppers, office workers and students passing through on buses and trains, which means many people could have been nearby when the stabbing took place.
Baltimore recorded roughly 200 to 280 homicides a year between 2007 and 2014, one of the highest rates of any large American city, and many of those killings were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Deonate Smith could be found in news archives or public records. More than 13 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near North Howard Street downtown on the afternoon of February 5, 2013, or who heard talk among teenagers that winter about a stabbing there, may hold information that matters. That includes anyone who was hurt in the same incident, or who helped one of the victims before police and medics arrived. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call Baltimore Police homicide detectives at 410-396-2100, or leave an anonymous tip with Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland at 1-866-7LOCKUP (1-866-756-2587).
