Two killed in separate shootings in Roxbury, Dorchester
Shootings in Roxbury and Dorchester left two people dead and one injured Saturday night, Boston Police said Sunday.
“The last three weeks have been heartbreaking for Boston, with gun and knife violence taking too many lives and leaving too many families and friends with eternal grief,” DA Kevin Hayden said in a statement Sunday morning. “As always, we ask for the public’s help in solving these crimes and in addressing the factors that lead to them.”
Officers first responded to a ShotSpotter activation — a tool which acoustically locates and notifies police when shots are fired — at 15 Fermoy Heights in Dorchester at 8:46 p.m., according to a BPD release.
Police found one adult female suffering from an apparent gunshot, and the woman was pronounced dead on scene.
In Roxbury, officers responded to a second gunshot notification at 958 Tremont St. at 11:34 p.m., according to the department.
Two adult male victims were found at the scene and transported to local hospitals. One was pronounced dead, and the second is expected to recover, according to BPD.
Active investigations into both incidents are ongoing, police stated, and anyone with information is “strongly urged” to contact BPD at (617) 343-4470 or the anonymous CrimeStoppers Tip Line.
Hayden’s comments reference a wave of high-profile tragedies in the past several weeks, including the slayings of 13-year-old Tyler Lawrence while on a walk around his grandparents’ house in Mattapan, 21-year-old Brianna Brown in Jamaica Plain on Sunday and 31-year-old Paris Quilter in Dorchester on Monday.
Lawrence’s alleged killer, 34-year-old Csean “Shizz” Skerritt, has a long history of violence. His motive in the alleged murder is unclear. He was arraigned Friday. A 16-year-old defendant, Wilmary Meji, was arraigned Monday in connection with the fatal stabbing of Brown.
“We are challenged by a culture of violence and murder in the Black communities of Boston, like no other neighborhoods are,” said Rev. Kevin Peterson of the New Democracy Coalition, Sunday following the weekend shootings. “This requires that the overwhelming majority of good people in the Black community organize to be the first line of defense against the disparate amount of violence in the city impacting us.”
BPD had not yet release the names and details of the victims, as of Sunday evening.
Peterson also called out what he said was an insufficient response to violence in these neighborhoods by the city and BPD, saying, “we continue to demand a plan and partnership.”