On the heels of a deadly week in Boston, two more shootings occurred on Friday — one just hours after city leaders gathered together to call for drastic change.
Officers responding to the area of Columbia Road and Geneva Avenue in Dorchester around 9:30 a.m. found one person suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds, according to police.
The victim, a man in his 30s, was transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Then, hours later, police say another man was shot several times on Rockford Street in Roxbury, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.
His condition was not immediately released.
The two shootings came on the heels of appeals from local and city leaders who are urging drastic change after a recent surge in violence that includes an additional six fatal shootings over the last seven days.
“This week, six families are burying somebody. We can’t say to them, ‘well we’re safer than other cities,’” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said during a Friday press conference at a community center in Roxbury.
“That doesn’t work,” he added. “We need to go deeper.”
Walsh made it clear that something must be done to bring an end to the deadly violence, which has accounted for 46 homicides in the city this year.
“You can’t arrest our way out of what’s happening in the city,” Walsh said. “We will arrest people that do bad things. What we’d like to do is get them the day before they do a bad thing to put them on a path to success.”
The shootings this week, which are said to be unrelated, have rocked Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester. Some arrests have been made, while other cases remain unsolved.
Police Commissioner William G. Gross assured the community that his department is doing everything it can to keep the streets of Boston safe.
“We are committed to continuing to do our job, whether we get criticized or complained against, we are here,” he said. “We’re not going anywhere.”
It’s not about putting more officers on the streets but rather reaching out to problem teens and young adults before a crime is ever committed, according to Gross. He believes religious leaders, schools, and families must unite as one in order to make a difference.
“Please, for God’s sake, meet us halfway,” he said. “The onus isn’t solely on the police department. It is the village concept at hand.”
There were 42 homicides in Boston at this time in 2017.
Boston police are investigating these incidents.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at (617) 343-4470.
Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)