Human remains found near Southwest Baltimore Charter School, police investigate

Baltimore police were called to the 1300 block of Herkimer Street around 5:20 p.m. after human remains were found near Southwest Baltimore Charter School, drawing homicide detectives and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to the Pigtown block beside Carroll Park.

The remains were collected so investigators could determine the person’s identity and cause of death. Police did not say whether the discovery was tied to a crime, a medical emergency or another circumstance, and they released no identifying details about the person or any suspect information.

The location carried immediate weight because Southwest Baltimore Charter School is a public charter school in Baltimore City Public Schools, serving grades PreK-8 at 1300 Herkimer Street. The school’s principal is Iffeisha Gordon-Toppin. In a neighborhood where students, parents and staff move through the block every day, a death investigation near the campus is enough to unsettle the routines that usually define the area.

Police identified the school only as the geographic reference point and did not describe any ongoing threat at the campus. They also did not say whether school operations, pickup or dismissal were affected. For Southwest Baltimore families, that leaves a grim and unresolved scene tied to a familiar address rather than a clear explanation.

Baltimore police say their public crime map is updated regularly, but the data are preliminary and subject to change. The broader city backdrop is one of falling violent crime: Baltimore officials said the city ended 2025 with 133 homicides, down from 194 in 2024, and that homicides were down 22.7% by July 1, 2025 compared with the same point a year earlier.

That wider trend does not resolve what happened on Herkimer Street. It does show why a death investigation near a school can draw such strong concern in Southwest Baltimore, where even an uncertain discovery can quickly ripple through a neighborhood built around daily school and family routines.