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Shooting shuts Ashmont station
By adamg on Thu, 06/06/2013 - 10:35pm
Transit and Boston Police are looking for three suspects for a shooting at the busway at Ashmont station around 10:20 p.m. The victim was taken to Carney Hospital with a grazed leg.
Two of the suspects are black, in black hoodies, both about 5'8" with slim builds. The third is white, in a gray hoodie, also about 5'8" and slim. They may have run onto either Carruth Street or the Mattapan trolley line.
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Comments
so let's get this straight...
...some guy shows his willie to a woman on the green line and MBTA police FREAK THE FUCK OUT with pushed updates to See Say that make my phone go off in a meeting.
Someone gets shot, and....nothing?
I swear Ashmont is the only
I swear Ashmont is the only station with annual shootings. I heard the Carruth Bldg has never filled up, big shock
Have you heard of Forest
Have you heard of Forest Hills, Dudley, Savin Hill, Ruggles...
And never mind the Carruth Bldg opened just as the real estate market crashed. Have you checked its capacity recently?
Dudley had it's first
Dudley had it's first shooting in years somewhat recently. Forest Hills, it's been years if ever. Same with Ruggles. Savin Hill, 1 shooting in a handful of years. Ashmont is an annual event.
There was a shooting very
There was a shooting very close to Forest Hills station in 2012. But yes, Ashmont does see its share of shootings. It's odd, the neighborhoods near the station tend to be very quiet, it must be that being a bus terminus for a large area means that it's easy to find a target waiting for the bus or walking home. Unless you're suggesting these shootings are random?
yea bostons gettin hot pray
yea bostons gettin hot pray for my city
Police Fail
I hate to say this but we have a two tiered police modus operandi in this city.
The respondent above is right; Someone pulls out their wang on the T and it the news is everywhere. Someone pulls out a gun; that is life in the hood.
Ashmont has been a transit transfer point since 1928. It is the hub of bus service for many parts of Dot, Mattapan, and Milton. It attracts all types of people; commuters, students, etc. just about everyone who might need to take the T in that area.
One of those types of people is your basic, as Mike From Lincoln used to call, a Yummie. Yummies commit crimes. Why there isn't a full time MBTA officer or two on patrol at Ashmont from early afternoon until 1:00 is beyond my comprehension. Don't the police understand that the people who commit crimes my be in a certain place, that they might want to be there too? Just a thought.
I love the description of where the suspects ran: Carruth Street. Martin Richard lived 700 feet from this shooting on Carruth Street. There are cops everywhere, all the time, in the area where Martin Richard was killed, an area with little overall crime. Where Martin Richard lived, not so much. If three people pulled out guns and shot someone at Copley Station the governor would have more reasons to drink.
Carruth Street is beautiful, as is the neighborhood to the east of the station. I know. I grew up 700 feet from Ashmont. The shootings nearby and now even closer to where I grew up is why I left the city, not so much for me, but so my wife and kids would not have to live in the wild, wild, west environment which is allowed to thrive there.
My point is shootings are routine in parts of this city, there is a police presence, just not large enough to stop firefights.
Mayor Guiliani, who used a Dorchester boy, Bill Bratton, to bring down crime in NYC, was at the sites of the bombings yesterday to shill for the ever looking more pathetic Gabriel Gomez. Tis a shame Private (Equity) Gomez didn't take him to Dot to see what could be done about crime there.
I know for a fact there was a
I know for a fact there was a Transit officer present, and actively patrolling, Ashmont during one of the shootings several years ago. There is no perfect way to prevent this. It's also well known the T has a horrible cop/rider ratio compared to transit authorities across the country, when is that ever going to be addressed instead of just acknowledged?
I arrived...
...in the station shortly after all the mayhem. There we four ambulances & at least as many police cruisers in the busway lights flashing. Busses were still entering the station at that point. Mine arrived, we boarded, then after about 10 minutes of idling were told by a dispatcher that we were going nowhere & should exit the bus until they straightened things out. They also closed the Red Line. At that point the police had brought out the crime scene tape & were cordoning off the bus exit area near Peabody Sq. where the shooting had occurred. After the unnecessary cruisers & ambulances left, it took 40 minutes worth of dispatchers overseeing a process I can best describe as bus Jenga for them to re-arrange & turn the backed-up arrivals around so they could exit through the entrance. Must have been quite the sight for those watching from above in the Carruth. After a nearly an hour delay, my bus finally left.
Why is high rates of violent crime tolerated
in certain neighborhoods, in the case of Dorchester certain parts of certain neighborhoods, in Boston? If Newton, Brookline, Cambridge, never mind one of the W suburbs, had ongoing violent crime problems, random shootings and drive bys, there would be hell to pay. If incidents like that were commonplace in, say, Brookline Village, there would be a deafening uproar. But if police crack down on the violence they're called racist by many people living places like I just listed. These same people would be demanding greater police presence and activity if these things were occurring in their neighborhood. There's one set of rules and standards for them, and their children's safety, another for certain parts of Boston. The hypocrisy is unreal.
And the answer isn't just the gun control mantra/meme. It's a far more complex issue than blaming an inanimate object. But the uber gun control crowd don't like delving deep into the problem.
The people who enjoy Boston [and places like Cambridge, Brookline, Somerville, etc.] today should be grateful this city didn't experience the extreme level of 'flight' that occurred from about the 1970s onwards as many other American cities. Boston could have easily ended up like Newark, St. Louis, Baltimore, etc., Or we could have the kind of crime problems Atlanta, Miami, DC, Baltimore, Philly, etc. have. Cambridge could have ended up like Yale and New Haven. Unfortunately, the game goes on like it has for almost half a century now.
Sure, lets go deeper...
I think perhaps your opinion is likely to be misconstrued, and that, to use a stock analogy, past performance does not guarantee future performance.
I don't think cryptic allusions to the demographics of what you identify as high crimes areas is delving very deep at all into the issue. I think many will read a color word in front of your choice of words "flight", and will draw some kind of hypothesis that race/culture can be at least correlated with high crime.
Even in Atlanta, the claim breaks down. In many areas, gentrification is occurring due to the influx of well off black families. And the example of Newark is one sided - look right across the river to NYC to see drastic reductions in crime. I would be hesitant to make much of a causal claim other than this:
Entire sections of Boston were redlined, in retrospect, for disinvestment. Disinvestment (both public and private) drives down housing prices, drives away businesses, and brings in opportunists and cuts off opportunities for those who would otherwise be law abiding given the opportunity. The resulting crime creates a feedback loop - further lowering housing prices, driving away businesses, and perpetuating the cycle. The same happens in cities where you aren't talking about race at all - per capita, Anchorage Alaska has some very high crime areas, and is one of the least safe cities of its size. Focusing on the racial background of who inhabits high crime areas isn't really delving deep into the problem at all.
The way of breaking the cycle, perhaps counterintuitively, is to increase investments - public and private. You see this happening in Dorchester. The Ashmont area and other parts of Boston are on the upswing. As more investments come in - public and private - and as other parts of Boston become less affordable, the obvious trend is that those with the means will invest in areas that have suffered from long term disinvestment.
WHY did you jump on 'race'?
I went out of my way to be race neutral, except for the comment that police are often condemned by various 'advocates' as being 'racist' whenever a crackdown in demonstrably dangerous and high violent crime neighborhoods occur.
But you prove a point that ANY mention of race or racial overtones in regards to the extremely and consistent high levels of violent crime in majority black neighborhoods, even cities, is off limits.
And no, I shouldn't have to respond and defend my character to someone using the race card, but I will: I AM NOT RACIST. I don't hate or think less of anyone purely because of their background. And I do dislike, like many others, this pussyfooting around 'race' whenever a discussion of violent crime takes place.
BTW: Atlanta will soon , if it hasn't already, lose it's black majority status. Ditto Washington DC. There is one undeniable fact: major cities with majority or very big black populations, black [not minority in general, but African American/black] all, all of them, have major violent crime issues. There are many cities in the west especially that have majority Hispanic populations; some of them actually rate as being some of the safest cities in the country. So it's fair to ask the question: why the continuing problem with very high violent crime rates in black majority cities and neighborhoods?
Touchy, touchy. No, I can't
Touchy, touchy. No, I can't possibly see how you could be mistaken for a racist.
Exhibit #1
Perfect example of throwing around the racist label.
You could have refuted the posters statement with facts or replied in any other good faith manner.
Unfortunately, most would rather just scream "racist" to avoid thinking about the issue and stroke their own ego.
The majority of urban gun violence is committed by young, minority males. This is an irrefutable fact. The question is what underlying issues (poverty, family breakdown, etc.) drive this demographic to commit crimes at a rate well above their % of the population? No one with any sense thinks it's due to skin color. So how about taking people at face value when they try to discuss this instead of doing your best to read racism into it.
Wow, I'm sorry.
Original responder to your comment here. If it's OK with you, I'd like to concede the whole racism issue - I'll apologize to you personally since I must have given you the impression that I assumed the worst, since you only alluded to race in your comment indirectly. I will agree with you 100% - it's a shame that the charge of 'racism' would be applied to people who are just attempting to have a discussion about violence in communities of color. But it's also a sad fact that there are racists out there - and I think they have made it quite impossible to discuss matters of race without this kind of name calling back and forth. Let's agree that their opinions should be of no consequence to any mutually respectful discussion.
As one of the anon commenters says, which I agree fully, no one with any sense thinks it's about skin color.
The "Exhibit 1 commenter" also makes a point to the "Touchy, touchy" anon commenter: "The majority of urban gun violence is committed by young, minority males. " Well, that does seem obvious, but so what? I have to empathize with the majority of young, black males - many of whom come from good homes, with good character - who because of the actions of others are presumed to be criminals.
What I am interested in, but not quite sure of, is what people are suggesting in terms of policy. Could you could share what you believe Boston should do about it? Even if our opinions of root causes differ, I think it's possible that we could both agree that further investment is needed in some areas of Boston if the issue of crime is brought under control.
Thanks for your time.
ASHMONT OR QUINCY
I have been to both. Ashmont is a beautiful station with a nice plaza which is overrun by teenage gangbangers in the afternoon and occasional gunfire at night. Quincy station is a disgrace with the parking lot falling down and on days like today the rain mixed with urine and feces from the garage above comes pouring down into the lobby area. I can't believe the Board of Health allows them to serve food. Your chances of getting stuck with a needle left from a junkie in Quincy is a lot higher than getting hit with a bullet from Ashmont.
It's ironic that you are
It's ironic that you are comparing Ashmont and Quincy stations.
Growing up around Ashmont, we watched ashmont deteriorate while the south shore run of the redline (quincy braintree stations) were newly built or renovated. In the 1980s the T started talking about doing over Ashmont. Lets see - it only took 30 yeas for them to do it! So now Ashmont is all shiny and new (lovin' it!) and all those formerly shiny stations are outdated and tarnished. So I feel your pain.
There should definitely be a police presence on site at Ashmont (a big one, it is a hub after all). All those school students on the train can be loud and scary even if they mean no harm.
The new station has definitely had a good impact on the real estate nearby. It's so convenient literally takes only 5 min to walk to the T from my house. and that trolley line is just one of the best kept secrets of riding the T, not to mention the waterfront bike paths and dorchester park just down the street.
Same shit different day
OFFS, I live in Codman Square, am used to the never ending sirens and gunshots. Summer just started early for the thugs this year (I suspect thanks in part to Annie Dookhan). But in this day and age anything can happen anywhere. None of the suburbs or any other place are immune to violence, maybe not gang/thug violence but you might have someone who lost their job, or their spouse, or their dog and just decides to go on a shooting rampage. No place is safe. You can just go about your business, not start trouble with anyone, and pray for the best, wherever you live.
Once again same thing this night...
I heard these shots and heard and saw a group of teens running away from the station down Bailey. This was reported to the police. Again tonight Sunday am @1:30AM I was awoken by gun shots and again hear what sounded like the same group running away from Dorchester Street and the station down Bailey...Again police raced up and down Ashmont Street...????
Whats going on in this neighborhood and what is the problem with the Boston police..???
Hi, I'm tired of the violence
Hi, I'm tired of the violence. Everybody knows what goes on in Ashmont. The teens, gangbangers, drug addicts are there all day and night. Bailey street is always busy with parties and police activity. The pizza shop and liquor store are where people hang out...teens and gangbangers. You have two rival gangs who share Dorchester Ave. The police know who they are, hell the whole neighborhood knows who they are. If you go on Twitter or facebook, you will know who they are. So if I can almost find a motive for the shooting, why can't the Boston Police gang unit do the same thing. I believe that they may have pictures of the shooters because of all the cameras in the area. But dont let another shooting happen before you make Ashmont station safe for the thousands of people who travel through or past there. Transit police are useless, so it's up to Gang unit. You know who it is,so do something about it.
Thanks