The Boston Globe
A call to talk about guns
Minister presses for conference after 2 shootings
By Maria Cramer and Adrienne P. Samuels, Globe Staff | November 14, 2005
One man was killed yesterday in a drive-by shooting and another was critically injured by unrelated gunfire, as Boston's homicide toll continued to mount and a Dorchester pastor called for a citywide conference to help stop gun violence.
A 25-year-old man was walking west on St. James Street in Roxbury about 2:40 a.m. yesterday when men driving a car on Washington Street fatally shot him, witnesses and police said.
The man, whose name police did not release, was the city's 60th homicide victim this year -- one more than this date last year.
''We have to stop this new wave of suicidal and destructive behavior that is wiping out a generation," the Rev. Bruce Wall said yesterday in a speech at the Greater Framingham Community Church in Framingham.
There, before hundreds of worshipers, Wall, senior pastor at Global Ministries Christian Church, said he wants to hold a conference, organized primarily by city clergy leaders, that would explore why and how guns are arriving in the city.
The number of shootings has jumped 28 percent through Oct. 23, compared with the same period last year, according to police statistics.
Citywide, there were 279 fatal and nonfatal shootings this year through Oct. 23, compared with 218 in the same period last year.
In yesterday's fatal shooting, the victim was apparently walking with another man on St. James Street toward Washington Street when a car drove up in front of them, according to one witness who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution.
The witness, who was walking in the opposite direction on St. James Street, said he did not see the men on the sidewalk exchange words with the men he saw in the car. Then he heard gunshots and darted inside his condo on St. James Street.
Several neighbors heard the shots and called 911.
The man who had been walking with the shooting victim frantically knocked on the doors of nearby houses asking for help, said neighbor Mickey Alexander, 57.
The shooting victim fell in the driveway of a green clapboard house at 69 St. James St. A white sheet marked the sidewalks there late yesterday.
About three hours before the killing, another man was wounded in an unrelated shooting in Dorchester, police said. The victim, whose name was not released, was shot in the face about 11 p.m. Saturday while walking near the Sydney Street entrance to the JFK/UMass MBTA station, police said.
A Boston teacher, who did not want to be identified, said she heard the shots while in her car. When she turned the corner, she said, she saw what appeared to be a teenage boy with curly hair and a tan complexion lying in a puddle of blood.
The teacher said she called 911 and watched while two men from down the street tried to assist the youth. The young man was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was in critical condition yesterday, police said. Police are investigating both shootings.
''It's just insane," said Wall, of the recent gun violence.
He said that for the spring conference to be successful, it must be held in March or April, well before the summer, when street violence typically escalates. And the community, not city or law enforcement officials, must be behind its planning, Wall said.
''The clergy has to play a major role if the conference is going to have the credibility that it needs," he said in an interview following his sermon.
''We're not law enforcement. We're not turning these kids in. We're helping them. They give us shell casings. They give us guns. They trust us."
Wall said he planned to ask Mayor Thomas M. Menino to pay for the conference, which is being called ''Why Are Illegal Guns Being Sent to Boston's Black Community?" The conference would probably cost about $5,000 for food, photocopies, and the printing of a document detailing the proposed solutions, Wall said.
The mayor was out of town last night and could not be reached for comment.
Several members of the Framingham congregation said they planned to participate.
''I think it's a great idea," said Ron Flanders, 49, a member of Greater Framingham who works in Boston as a financial consultant. ''I'm inspired."
A call to talk about guns
Minister presses for conference after 2 shootings
By Maria Cramer and Adrienne P. Samuels, Globe Staff | November 14, 2005
One man was killed yesterday in a drive-by shooting and another was critically injured by unrelated gunfire, as Boston's homicide toll continued to mount and a Dorchester pastor called for a citywide conference to help stop gun violence.
A 25-year-old man was walking west on St. James Street in Roxbury about 2:40 a.m. yesterday when men driving a car on Washington Street fatally shot him, witnesses and police said.
The man, whose name police did not release, was the city's 60th homicide victim this year -- one more than this date last year.
''We have to stop this new wave of suicidal and destructive behavior that is wiping out a generation," the Rev. Bruce Wall said yesterday in a speech at the Greater Framingham Community Church in Framingham.
There, before hundreds of worshipers, Wall, senior pastor at Global Ministries Christian Church, said he wants to hold a conference, organized primarily by city clergy leaders, that would explore why and how guns are arriving in the city.
The number of shootings has jumped 28 percent through Oct. 23, compared with the same period last year, according to police statistics.
Citywide, there were 279 fatal and nonfatal shootings this year through Oct. 23, compared with 218 in the same period last year.
In yesterday's fatal shooting, the victim was apparently walking with another man on St. James Street toward Washington Street when a car drove up in front of them, according to one witness who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution.
The witness, who was walking in the opposite direction on St. James Street, said he did not see the men on the sidewalk exchange words with the men he saw in the car. Then he heard gunshots and darted inside his condo on St. James Street.
Several neighbors heard the shots and called 911.
The man who had been walking with the shooting victim frantically knocked on the doors of nearby houses asking for help, said neighbor Mickey Alexander, 57.
The shooting victim fell in the driveway of a green clapboard house at 69 St. James St. A white sheet marked the sidewalks there late yesterday.
About three hours before the killing, another man was wounded in an unrelated shooting in Dorchester, police said. The victim, whose name was not released, was shot in the face about 11 p.m. Saturday while walking near the Sydney Street entrance to the JFK/UMass MBTA station, police said.
A Boston teacher, who did not want to be identified, said she heard the shots while in her car. When she turned the corner, she said, she saw what appeared to be a teenage boy with curly hair and a tan complexion lying in a puddle of blood.
The teacher said she called 911 and watched while two men from down the street tried to assist the youth. The young man was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was in critical condition yesterday, police said. Police are investigating both shootings.
''It's just insane," said Wall, of the recent gun violence.
He said that for the spring conference to be successful, it must be held in March or April, well before the summer, when street violence typically escalates. And the community, not city or law enforcement officials, must be behind its planning, Wall said.
''The clergy has to play a major role if the conference is going to have the credibility that it needs," he said in an interview following his sermon.
''We're not law enforcement. We're not turning these kids in. We're helping them. They give us shell casings. They give us guns. They trust us."
Wall said he planned to ask Mayor Thomas M. Menino to pay for the conference, which is being called ''Why Are Illegal Guns Being Sent to Boston's Black Community?" The conference would probably cost about $5,000 for food, photocopies, and the printing of a document detailing the proposed solutions, Wall said.
The mayor was out of town last night and could not be reached for comment.
Several members of the Framingham congregation said they planned to participate.
''I think it's a great idea," said Ron Flanders, 49, a member of Greater Framingham who works in Boston as a financial consultant. ''I'm inspired."
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
