Slay victim’s shooting not his first time
Wounded in December
A highway maintenance supervisor for the city’s Department of Public Works who was shot dead in his home Saturday had been shot and wounded last December, his family said.
Alexander J. Allen, 55, was fatally shot inside his three-bedroom colonial on Manchester Street in Mattapan late Saturday night, nearly eight months to the day after he survived a bullet to the leg when his city-issued DPW vehicle was shot up near his house on the morning of Dec. 14, his mother, Mary Allen, told the Herald yesterday. Police said they have no suspects in the killing.
City officials did not identify Alexander Allen by name at the time, but did say he was a supervisor in the highway division, and that it appeared he had been targeted.
Mary Allen, 83, said her eldest son had worked for the city more than 20 years and lived in Boston all his life.
“He was a hardworking man ... a churchgoer,” she said in a soft voice.
When asked if the family ever found out who shot him eight months ago, she said, “No.”
She said her son and his wife did not have children.
A police vehicle idled outside Alexander Allen’s house yesterday. A wind chime hung on the front porch.
A relative who answered the door also confirmed “Alex” had been killed. “Right in his own home,” she said, shaking her head.
She declined comment on behalf of his widow.
Police Commissioner William G. Gross, speaking at the murder scene early yesterday morning, appealed to the public for help.
Gross said officers responding to the house at 11:15 p.m. Saturday “found a male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local area hospital, where, unfortunately, he was pronounced dead. It is the city’s 33rd homicide.
“At this time, it’s an active investigation,” Gross said. “We’re looking for witnesses. One homicide’s too many. That’s why we want everyone to help out if they can.”
A neighbor who spoke on condition of anonymity yesterday said Alexander Allen “was a great guy — a nice guy,” who once gave him a tank of gas for his grill when he was hosting a cookout.
Police did not release Alexander Allen’s identity pending an autopsy today.
Police are urging anyone with information helpful to solving the case to contact homicide detectives at 617-343-4470.