Omar like all the characters in The Wire is a composite character. One of the people the character is based on really did leap off a six story balcony to escape being shot to death.

The thing to keep in mind is that David Simon was a Crime Reporter for the Baltimore Sun for years. And Ed Burns was a Baltimore Cop for decades. Simon wrote two books based on that one is called Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets the other is called The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood. Both are great but tough reads!

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