Laurel Playground is quiet. The sound of children playing has given way to the rattle of helium balloons clinging to the memorial for 11-year-old QueenEr’Re Reed.
QueenEr’Re was gunned down just after sunset on New Year’s Day in the West End playground, named for the housing project that once stood there.
QueenEr’Re was the second 11-year-old to be killed on the block since early 2023, the latest loss in an area already marked by streets named for Derrick Turnbow and Domonic Davis, whose young lives were also claimed by gun violence. …