Six shot in Roxbury
Weekend carnage continues after two hit the night before
Six people were shot inside a car late Friday night as they were attending a Fourth of July weekend gathering, police Commissioner William Gross said.
Boston police officers from District B-2 responded to a call of a shooting on Maple Street in Roxbury at 11:13 p.m. Friday, said Gross early Saturday morning.
Officers found six people shot — three women and three men — in their mid-20s to mid-30s. All victims were transported to area hospitals with nonlife-threatening injuries, Gross said.
“Mayor Walsh, myself, and the district attorney, we do not condone this type of violence at all,” Gross told reporters. “And we want to get ahead of this, so when we find these individuals, we want to prosecute them to the fullest. This is a nice neighborhood, and as I always say, this isn’t indicative of the entire neighborhood — it’s only 1 or 2% driving the numbers, and we need to send them a message that this is unacceptable.”
Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins, who joined Gross at the crime scene, said she had a message for whoever was responsible for the shooting: “The community needs to hear that whoever was engaged in this behavior, we will find you and we will hold you accountable.”
“I want you to hear me say that whoever has engaged in this behavior will be held accountable. My office is going to be focusing on serious violent crimes. That’s where our attention will be focused, almost exclusively. Please hear me say that you will be held accountable for this,” Rollins added.
The shooting in Roxbury comes just a day after another shooting occurred late Thursday night at a Dorchester park — an 8-year-old girl was shot in the foot and a man in his 30s was shot twice in the torso, as the Herald previously reported.
Gross said the victims Friday night were attending a gathering when unknown assailant(s) opened fire on them as they were sitting in a car.
“They were just attending a gathering, they weren’t doing anything wrong. It’s the Fourth of July going into the weekend, you just gather with your friends and family, as you should have the right to do,” said Gross. “That’s why I’m very adamant — whoever did this, forget the bracelet, forget the stay-away orders — lock them up. The district attorney, myself, and the mayor are committed to repeat violent offenders. They can’t be rehabilitated on this side, they have to go to jail, and we are working together on this, definitely.”
Boston police officers taped off parts of Maple, Nazing and Sonoma streets as investigators were seen canvassing the area till approximately 2 a.m. Gross said detectives will be looking for witnesses and surveillance video of the shooting.
A Boston police spokesman said late Saturday morning no arrests have been made and the investigation is still active.
Mayor Martin Walsh said in a tweet Saturday afternoon, “I share in the outrage and hurt that I know our community is feeling. These incidents are completely unacceptable and deeply traumatic for our city. Our collective work will not be finished until the number of people injured and families mourning the loss of a loved one is zero.”
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who was formerly an at-large city councilor, wrote in a tweet Saturday morning, “Awakened to the depressing news of more community shootings, 2nd day. More violence. More outrage. More trauma. More Work to be done.”