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Two violent crimes in one day leave Bywater residents shaken

Wednesday that library was boarded up as crews came by to clean up the blood. A few blocks away, neighbors left candles and stuffed animals for little Amina.

A library security guard is gunned down in the Bywater on the same day police respond to the brutal murder of a toddler blocks away. The two violent crimes on the same day have left a quiet neighborhood reeling.

"It's just all too much," resident Beth Butler said.

First, residents learned a father stabbed and suffocated his 18-month-old daughter.

"That is so unspeakable. It just sets a new bar for horror," Butler said.

Hours later, a beloved library security guard is shot multiple times in the back and is in critical condition.

"This is still very shocking to all of us," Butler said. "We were out here. We could hear the shots."

Mother Quiatta Joseph knows the security guard well.

"He's very good to the kids. He even give the kids extra snacks, everything," Joseph said. "They're really good security guards so I just don't know who would do this."

The whole neighborhood uses the library. Residents say it was like a sanctuary.

"It's a peaceful place where people come to read," James Daniels said.

"I come over almost every day," Butler agreed.

Residents don't think twice about sending their kids there.

"Every day after school they use the library," Joseph said.

Wednesday that library was boarded up as crews came by to clean up the blood. A few blocks away, neighbors left candles and stuffed animals for little Amina.

"Same day in the same neighborhood," Daniels said. "I don't even know what to say. I'm at a loss for words."

Inside a house and outside a library. Two places where neighbors say you should feel the most safe.

"It seems so out of the blue," Butler said. "So does the other one. So does the policeman."

Within 24 hours residents say their sense of safety was shattered.

"It has been a very tragic day for this neighborhood," Butler said.

Now they're left wondering where to go from here.

"I don't know what's going on, we need more help," Daniels said.

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