'You're A Coward': Walsh Infuriated By Recent Gun Violence In Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- At a time when people are being urged to stay home and practice social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic, Boston has seen multiple acts of violence. Seventeen-year old Alissa King was shot and killed in the street Wednesday afternoon in Dorchester, a 16-year-old was shot in Jamaica Plain Saturday and on Saturday evening in Roxbury a 10-year-old girl was critically injured by a gunshot that came from a gathering in an apartment next door.
"The first thing I want to say is that my heart goes out to the families and the communities. We are doing everything we can to be there for you and to make sure that this is not a trend," Mayor Marty Walsh said at a news conference Monday. "Next thing I want to say is anyone who fires a gun right now, is you're a coward. You put everyone around you in danger. You bring trauma and suffering on your community, and you will face justice."
Walsh said he and other city leaders are "infuriated" by the crowd gathered in the Nazing Street apartment that was "ignoring guidelines, ignoring the community."
"I want the youth and young adults who gathered that night to look at what happened, ask themselves, 'is this what you want to be a part of?'" Walsh said. "Look at the little girl. Look at your own siblings, nieces, and nephews, look at your grandmother and ask if she deserves to be safe."
Walsh said his Public Safety department is working on intervention plans with trauma teams, community leaders, police and other partners.
"We're doing everything we can to protect the community from a pandemic that is taking people's lives. We're doing everything we can to support people in need of resources," he said. "The last thing our community really needs right now is violence."
