WWII vet murdered in his pajamas in crime-ridden US city

He was beaten to death by burglars for refusing to leave his home

WASHINGTON DC: A 97 year-old World War II veteran has become the oldest homicide victim in crime-ridden Baltimore after he was beaten to death in his pajamas for refusing to leave his home.

Wadell Tate was killed on July 21 by burglars inside the rowhouse he had owned for six decades, the Washington Post reported in its Wednesday edition. Baltimore, a port city about an hour northeast of the US capital, has seen 211 people killed this year, according to city figures.

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"They took away his right to die on his own," Tate's 65 year-old daughter Sylvia Swann told the Post. Baltimore, a city of 2.8 million, is troubled by drug use, poverty and racial segregation problems. In 2016 violent crime in Baltimore was up 22 percent and murders up 78 percent, according to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Over the weekend activists called for a 72-hour ceasefire, and held rallies and vigils. Nevertheless two people were killed. There is little trust between residents and the police as Baltimore struggles with the aftermath of rioting in 2015 following the death in police custody of 25-year-old Freddie Gray.

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City police came under scathing criticism after the death of Gray, who suffered a severed spine while being transported in the back of a police van with his hands and feet bound. In April a federal judge approved a consent decree requiring the Baltimore police to implement sweeping reforms.

The Baltimore city government and police agreed on the decree last year, but the administration of President Donald Trump, promising to empower police to crack down on crime, has sought to delay and modify it.