2 Men Shot, Killed Near 2 Schools In Jamaica Plain
JAMAICA PLAIN (CBS) – Two men were killed in a shooting near two schools in Jamaica Plain and Boston Police are looking for help solving the case.
Officers were called to Mozart and Bolster streets just before 10 p.m. Monday and found the men suffering from gunshot wounds in between Nativity Prep and the John F. Kennedy School near Mozart Park.
They have been identified by police as Christian Green, 32, of New Bedford, and Jose M. Martinez, 34, of Boston.
Mae Sampson was watching TV when the gunfire erupted outside of her home.
"I heard like 17-18 shots, real loud," she told WBZ-TV. "After the shooting, I rolled onto my floor because my window's right by the park."
Sampson wants to get out of the neighborhood soon.
"It's crazy. I'm 61 years old. I can't take this no more around here," she said.
A white sedan was towed away from the scene early Tuesday morning. There have been no arrests at this point in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
"This is a tragic event," Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins told reporters. "Two people lost their lives and as the parent of young children the fact this happened in front of a beautiful park and between two schools we need people to feel safe in these communities."
"We can't say it enough. This shouldn't be tolerated in our neighborhoods and the only way to combat this is for all of us to work together and make sure whoever is responsible is prosecuted and put away," said Police Commissioner William Gross.
Trauma services will be available for students and anyone in the neighborhood.
"I'm just really, really heartbroken," said Jossie Leon, a cousin of Christian Green. "He will be missed by many. He was very lovable."
Gross said these two deaths mark Boston's 19th and 20th homicides of the year, compared to 24 at this time last year.
Two men were killed by gun violence over the weekend in Dorchester. On Friday night, a 59-year-old man was shot and killed on Devon Street. Another man was killed half a mile away on Michigan Avenue early Sunday morning.
Mayor Marty Walsh told reporters Tuesday the Jamaica Plain shootings were not random.
"A lot of these aren't random shootings. These aren't just somebody walking down the street, sitting in their car, somebody pulls up and starts shooting you. It's not a random shooting. There's usually always something behind that," said Walsh.
"So, we are asking adults who are causing some of the violence in the city to stop. Bottom line," he said.
The mayor will have one of his neighborhood coffee hours at Mozart Park at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. The event was scheduled before Monday night's shooting.
Tina Goulet, the mother of an eight-year-old daughter, is concerned for her safety. "If something happened I would be devastated. She's my pride and joy."
"They need to do something. They need to find some way to make it safer for kids in this neighborhood to be here. If not, maybe the playground needs to be moved somewhere safer," she said.
Other residents spoke to WBZ-TV off-camera, out of fear of retaliation. They said the park attracts a negative element at night.
"I think other people need to understand, as young people need to understand, that just picking up a gun doesn't mean nothing," said neighborhood activist Anetra Warren.
Family and friends of the victims are mourning and honoring their loved one's memory with a vigil on the basketball court in Mozart Park.
No arrests have been made at this time.