BALTIMORE — Maryland's Governor has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the late Congressman Elijah Cummings.
The outpouring in the wake of his death from an undisclosed illness has included mourners quietly leaving flowers on the front step of the home Cummings shared with his wife, former Maryland gubernatorial candidate Maya Rockeymore Cummings.
Cummings is remembered in Baltimore as a civil rights leader and a fierce defender of the city.
"The first thing that went through my mind is it's a loss for the nation and loss for the state and the city and the neighborhood," said former Baltimore police commissioner Leonard Hamm, who also lives two doors down from Cummings rowhouse in West Baltimore. "He's a friend."
"We are at a time in our nation more so than ever that I can remember that we need leaders," Hamm added. "We need people that are going to speak to the truth and he did that, always. That's going to be missed."
Neighbor Rheney Hodge-Sheen called Cummings a "hero" who lived and walked in some of the toughest parts of Baltimore "without fear."
"Congressman Elijah Cummings was a champion for the people," Hodge-Sheen said. "Especially young people and those who couldn't help themselves. He always looked out for the people of the community especially those from the inner city. Wherever there were problems he went there to see if he could solve it. I think he was a great man."