Boston Woman Shot Dead In Dorchester; Victim's Father Pleads For Public's Help
BOSTON (CBS) – Boston police are investigating a shooting Saturday morning in Dorchester that killed one woman and hospitalized another.
Officers assigned to the J'Ouvert Parade responded to the sound of gunshots near the intersection of Blue Hill Avenue and Charlotte Street at about 8:15 a.m. and found 26-year-old Dawnn Jaffier of Boston suffering from what appeared to be life-threatening gunshot wounds, police said. Jaffier, police said, had been marching in the parade when she was shot.
She was taken to Boston Medical Center where she was later pronounced dead.
"This victim was an innocent victim," said Boston Police Chief of Investigative Services Robert Merner.
A second woman in her early 20s was found with less serious gunshot wounds in the area of 783 Blue Hill Ave. She was taken to Carney Hospital with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Police said the second woman was about a block away from Jaiffer and was likely struck by an errant bullet.
One man, whom police identified as Keith Williams, 18, of Dorchester, was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, Boston Police said. Williams was arrested near the scene of the shooting, Merner said.
Police said officers saw three people running from the shooting scene and were able to detain them for questioning. A firearm was recovered near the shooting scene. Two were later released, Merner said, but Williams, one of the three, was arrested.
The investigation is "very active, and fluid and ongoing," Merner said, adding the crime lab, firearms analysis unit and multiple detectives has been assigned to the case.
Merner declined to say whether Jaffier or anybody else was targeted.
Jaffier's father, Ian, asked for the public's help in solving his daughter's murder, which he called a "senseless crime." He said his daughter, a UMass-Amherst graduate, was shot in the head. He said his daughter was always giving back to her community.
"I am going to have to end up burying her because someone shot her in the head," Ian Jaffier said.
Jaffier was a Boston Public Schools graduate who returned to the district to work as an after-school tutor and a coach Playworks, a community organization, according to Boston Public Schools. Jaffier also worked as a lunch monitor at the Hennigan School. SHe also served with City Year at the Maurice J. Tobin school.
"Our students called her 'Coach Dawnn.' She was a BPS graduate who returned to our schools as a community partner to motivate and mentor children. They looked up to her, and so did we. Dawnn was a loving, generous young woman who made it her mission to improve the lives of others. We send our condolences to her family, and even as we mourn, we are grateful for her life," Boston Public Schools Interim Superintendent John McDonough.
Mayor Marty Walsh released a statement Saturday saying the violence in Boston must stop.
"The hearts of Boston go out to the Jaffier family tonight for the loss of their daughter, Dawnn. She was an incredibly special person, loved by so many in the community. These senseless acts of violence need to stop. We must do everything we can to prevent the loss of innocent lives, and to ensure the safety of Boston's families. Dawnn's family and friends are in my prayers tonight," Walsh said.
Boston police ask anyone with information related to the shooting to call homicide detectives at 617-343-4470. Information can be provided anonymously by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1(800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word 'TIP' to CRIME (27463).
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