Baltimore violence prompts halt to school student trips

BALTIMORE (AP) - Officials with a county school district in Maryland say they have halted school-related trips to Baltimore because of escalating violence in the city.

A spokeswoman for Carroll County schools says the decision to halt the trips, including a marching band's scheduled performance Sunday in the mayor's Christmas Parade, was based on a recommendation from the county Sheriff's Office and will stay in place until late January, when it will be revisited.

The number of homicides this year in Baltimore recently exceeded 300 for the third year in a row.

Mayor Catherine E. Pugh recently called crime in the city "out of control," but her spokesman issued a statement saying she was disappointed by the Carroll County school decision.