City’s 54th slay occurs steps away from church
A man was shot and killed in Dorchester last night in what police said was a targeted attack, just steps from St. Peter Parish.
“These dudes got no heart,” said a man at the scene. “Right before Christmas, too.”
Police said a report of shots fired at Bowdoin and Adams streets came in about 7:30 p.m.
The first officers on scene found a male suffering lifethreatening injuries who later died. The body remained at the scene as the investigation continued. Police said the victim is an adult male in his late teens or early 20s.
“We can tell from witnesses and from video that it wasn’t a random act by any means,” police Commissioner William B. Evans said. “It’s sad. Here we are a couple days before Christmas and we have this senseless violence going on.”
It was the city’s 54th killing of the year, up four from this time last year, police said.
Police said there were no immediate arrests last night. Investigators are looking at whether the shooting is gang-related.
The Rev. Richard Conway of Saint Peter Parish, recognized by police for his outreach to the Cape Verdean community and anti-violence efforts, said the killing could have happened anywhere, but he called it “very discouraging” that it happened so close to his church.
“Who knows what drives at all? You try to reach out, you try to help kids, you try to get them to finish school ... and you try to speak to them and somehow it doesn’t get through,” Conway said. “Who knows why this happened? Is it retaliation for something that happened before? Who knows?”