Barber shot and killed in Dorchester remembered for good deeds
BOSTON - Friends are remembering 43-year-old Herman Maxwell Hylton, the man they know as Max, a popular barber who was shot and killed inside Celebrity Cut on Washington Street in Dorchester Wednesday night while he was on the job. It's outraged the community and those who know him.
Friends who spoke with WBZ-TV did not want to be identified.
"If I needed someone to talk to, he's just that person," one man said. "It's bad. Boston's bad we've got to fix this community guys, we got to do something, like something got to give."
It's a message police are trying to send, pleading with the public for help as they search for the gunman. Inside the shop still surrounded by police tape, an evidence marker and bullet casing on the floor. Police say the victim was targeted and it comes after three people were killed last weekend in separate shootings in the city.
"I think really Boston just needs to go on a curfew right now, it's not good and I'm scared," a woman said.
Max was known for his good deeds. He was part of a back-to-school program giving free haircuts to children, and a local event promoter.
That this could happen inside a neighborhood barbershop has Mayor Michelle Wu trying to reassure residents.
"Our Boston police officers, and first responders, law enforcement partners across all levels have been working quickly to make sure that there's information that we can build into the strategy that's already being implemented," Wu said.
In fact, the mayor met just two days ago with police and city leaders to try to come up with solutions to the recent violence. There have been 34 homicides in Boston this year, slightly down from a total of 39 last year.
Friends can't fathom who would be behind this shooting. "I woke up today, just hurt, I wish I could have seen him," a friend said.