‘State of emergency’: Black community leaders working independent of Boston officials on public safety plan
Black community leaders in Boston communities experiencing a spike in violent crimes are announcing plans Friday to work independently of city government to make their neighborhoods safer.
By WCVB Staff
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BOSTON (WCVB) — Black community leaders in Boston communities experiencing a spike in violent crimes are announcing plans Friday to work independently of city government to make their neighborhoods safer.
The Rev. Kevin Peterson said the group will develop a public safety strategy that speaks to the “state of emergency” in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan.
The group said weeks of appeals for a clear and transparent public safety plan have “fallen on deaf ears.”
“We are seeking leadership from Boston’s grassroots community to address the uptick of violence in Roxbury,” Peterson said.
“We need all hands on deck,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said. “Boston is always strongest when community members and faith leaders and organizations are all working towards the same goal with urgency. That is the goal that we share of ensuring that every single one of our young people, our seniors, our families are safe in every space in the city.”
There have been four fatal shootings in the city of Boston in the past week.
Maxwell Hylton, 43, of Roxbury, was shot and killed Wednesday inside Celebrity Cut on Washington Street in Dorchester.
Three other people died in three separate shootings in Boston last weekend. Daniel Danders, 36, was shot early Saturday on Baird Street in Dorchester.
Early Sunday, 33-year-old Jasmine Burrell was shot and killed on Fairlawn Avenue in Mattapan. Later Sunday evening, Christian Thistle-Kavanaugh, 21, of Dorchester, was shot on Geneva Avenue in Dorchester.
Boston police are also investigating an incident in which a 7-year-old child brought a loaded handgun to the UP Academy Holland school Thursday.
Police received a report of a student with a gun at the school around 3:30 p.m. and discovered the student with the loaded gun.
“I’m speechless. I don’t have the words. This is truly devastating,” Boston Public Schools superintendent Mary Skipper said. “We have to ask ourselves how a very young student becomes in possession of and gains access to a firearm.”
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