Homicide increase sparking a call to action by leaders
A 33-percent surge in homicides is prompting community leaders to look for new solutions to violence plaguing inner-city neighbhorhoods.
A yet-to-be identified man, believed to be in his 30s, was fatally shot Sunday night about 11:40 p.m. on Mt. Pleasant Avenue in Roxbury, Boston police said.
The man’s death raised the homicide total for the year so far to 32, up from 24 through the same time in 2016, police said yesterday — representing a 33 percent increase.
“Violence, at its core fundamental level, is problematic for us in the city,” said Darnell Williams of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. “We have to find a more rudimentary way of dealing with it . ... I don’t want to diminish from the efforts that are transpiring. But you can’t expect different results, if the efforts you’re doing are not changing the outcomes.”
The Herald reported last month there was a 30-percent increase this year in shootings in the first half of 2017 over the same period in 2016. The sharp spike in nonfatal shootings was mostly attributed to increased incidents in Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.
Cops have deployed new recruits in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. The department also is planning more interaction with the community through events such as visits to the YMCAs and Boys & Girls Clubs, basketball clinics, ice cream socials and more than a dozen flashlight walks throughout the city.
Jeffrey Brown, associate pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury, said authorities need to step up their efforts to curb violence.
“Anytime you have a marked increase in both homicides and shootings, it’s a cause for concern. And it sounds the alarm within the community,” Brown said. “One of the realities we see with violence is that it is cyclical. When they go up, what should also go up is the level of vigilance from the community and determination to do something about it.”
A makeshift memorial of six candles was placed on Mt. Pleasant Avenue. A second man, believed to be in his 40s, suffered injuries not deemed life-threatening in Sunday night’s incident, cops said. The shooting occurred next to a park. Several residents declined comment yesterday. Police had not announced an arrest in the case as of last night.
According to a flyer in an apartment building on Mt. Pleasant Avenue, a neighborhood anti-violence event is scheduled for Sept. 9 which will include clergy, community workers and a rapper.
The event is billed as “Just a peaceful day in the hood.”