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Four in car in Roxbury shot; one dead
By adamg on Fri, 01/09/2015 - 12:21am
The scene on Harrishof. Photo by Ryan.
UPDATE: Victim identified as Alex DoSouto.
Stanley Staco and Boston EMS Incidents report four people in a car were shot around 10:45 p.m. on the 100 block of Harrishof Street.
Boston Police report a man, 24, was pronounced dead and a woman was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Two men were taken to local hospitals with less severe wounds.
The victims drove off before coming to a stop several blocks away at Dale and Walnut.
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Comments
When you see Crime Scene
When you see Crime Scene Response, that's not good. I can't imagine responding to a scene like this. Thank you EMS and BPD.
At the risk of trolling, I'm torn how to feel. Let's celebrate/argue about the Olympics, and continue to be complacent about our inner city gang violence. I just don't know what to think anymore.
With all due respect, please
With all due respect, please be very careful to walk the line between identifying a neighborhood and glorifying a street term. Most of us will make the mental leap to connect the street to the region, but each time a whole neighborhood is branded as violent, it solidifies the obstacles to change, and causes a lot of assumptions and dismissal of individually violent acts and tragedy. I understand the usefulness of the H-block tag, and as a lower Boston resident, I also understand the history, but children live on these streets, too ... bolstering and fortifying a slang neighborhood identifyer as synonymous with violence breeds hopelessness and narrows vision. It may not be completely avoidable, but please tread with caution. My heart goes out to everyone who loves any of the folks involved.
H-Block isn't just the name
H-Block isn't just the name of the area, but also the name of the gang that is very active in that area. I doubt Adam was using the tag to put a name to the area, but rather because he is aware of the fact that majority of shootings in that section of Roxbury usually involve members of the gang. H-Block is the name the gang gave themselves, in reference to the many streets off of and including Humboldt Ave, that start with H's.
Um, no
Yes, there's a longstanding gang that takes its name from the streets, and yes, they've been responsible for a lot of violence, but I originally used "H Block" in the headline because it's a well defined area where almost all the streets begin with H and I figured people would be able to better picture the area in their mind because it's a subsection of Roxbury - same as if I used, say, "Hyde Square" rather than "Jamaica Plain" in a headline.
But the initial request to change the headline got me thinking: Unlike in Hyde Square, there's no H-Block task force, no H-Block civic association, etc. The people who live there are not using the name; the only association seems to be with the gang violence (in fact, if you Google "H Block Roxbury" the first thing that comes up is the link above). And while this shooting could very well be related to the gang, I don't know that. So the request seemed a reasonable one to me.
Free tagging
Might want to remove it from the free tagging too unless there's evidence that the gang was involved in this shooting on one side or the other.
Um actually
I live here and many people do call it H-Block. Not to give the gang credit, but how else can you describe the area? In between Humboldt and Walnut Ave? Not really. Too many options for that. And it's literally a bunch of streets that start with the letter H and basically form an H. Harrishof, Holworthy, Hollander, Harold.
Many home owners in the area take great pride in the neighborhood, and want to work together to end the violence. If it had to do with gang violence or not, you see the old heading and you know. This block is crime ridden and no one has answers. And some people are fortunate enough to not get involved or can afford to move. Anyways, just another day on H-Block. I hope the city comes up with answers soon because people are dying left and right from all of this nonsense.
Just out of curiosity...
What answers would you like the city to come up with? They've already tried after school programs at Higginson and Ellis, they have Crispus Attucks Center and the YMCA is in the area. In my opinion the city has done everything they can. Do you want them to send the police in and begin a stop and frisk? Can you imagine what a shit storm that would cause?
How about this - why don't the parents of these kids take a little responsibility? Get involved in the school, sports, after school programs, etc.
I'm so sick of people sitting around and waiting for someone else to do the dirty work. Get involved in the community, start snitching and get these assholes off the street.
hmm...
They've done everything they can? That's a bunch of BS. They should start by shutting down all of the trap houses in the neighborhood. Oh, great, so there are some after school programs. After school programs need to be enriching and encouraging. These kids need to know at a young age that they can, and will, make it if they try. And the YMCA is a great place, if you have the money to afford it. Yes they give scholarships and there are waivers, but sometimes that is not enough for a family in need, never mind a family with ten kids. Sorry, people with horrible parents make it out alive all of the time and are law abiding citizens that become successful, so you can't really blame the parents because at a certain point in life it's the individual that starts making the conscious decisions. It's all about encouragement and someone believing in you when you can't believe in yourself.
Like someone else said, this area is a shit hole. And to back up everything I have said, one, I live here, two I worked for the YMCA at an after school program, three, I work at an after school program right now for kids from public housing. So stop your complaining about people sitting around and waiting for something to happen. Are you making a positive impact on this neighborhood or one in need? Good for you if you are, but don't assume someone who wants the city to do more isn't doing their part. At the end of the day, these kids are the ones that are most in need. They have very little opportunity and follow what is easy. Have you walked around the neighborhood? I rarely see kids playing because it is too dangerous. The city needs to cut the crap and remove the negative impacts. And no, not by starting a stop and frisk. More officers on patrol, better connections with the family and neighborhood.
There is too much negativity in one corner of the city. Everyone has to step up to end this crap. Also, a little hard for Little Johnny or Susie to go to an after school program or join a sports team if they have to go home and take care of their younger siblings because mom is busting his bum at a minimum wage job to keep food on the table...
Good points.
A few things:
The police should go in and shut down the trap houses, however, if they do that and another 2 families lives in there, what's the solution?
The Y is 7.50/month for teens. Not exactly breaking the bank for anyone who is serious about helping their own kids. Also, isn't a person with ten kids perpetuating the problem? If you have 10 kids you can't afford, it seems to me you're only having them to get a bigger check every month and couldn't possibly care for all of them.
Good for you for volunteering, honestly. People like you are why things change, even if you only reach one kid. You hit the nail on the head by saying the kids take what is easy. Wherever you come from, you have to make your own opportunity and grab it. I feel like many kids in these neighborhoods wouldn't know opportunity if it bit them in the ass, they just want to make money fast and have the most respect. More officers on patrol with neighborhood connections would be a great thing - but how can the police hire from these areas when they literally cannot recruit from there because of a "fuck the police" attitude or a criminal record?
I go two ways with your final comment. The situation you lay out is totally possible and happens in many cases, but how many of these parents are worthless layabouts that are more concerned with themselves than their own children?
This is exactly why I
This is exactly why I objected (not that I assumed Adam made that assumption, but knowing that many readers would).
thank you for this, we live
thank you for this, we live close by and have a baby, and another one on the way. we were able to buy a house here in this beautiful neighborhood, that is very family oriented, and near JP. We are close with all of our neighbors, everyone on our street has young kids. Gorgeous lovely children and people, we know there is gang activity all over the place here but we don't see it, just hear the gun shots, or read what is in the news. I have hit the floor in my own home, rounds of gunshots going off practically in our backyard. There were two shootings in the span of only a few weeks right in front of an elementary school, around dusk and there wasn't a PEEP about it in the news, the crossing guards didn't even know it had happened. We love our neighborhood and have faith in, but I constantly worry about getting hit by a stray bullet, or god forbid our little baby, or anyone in our family. But I truly believe all lives are equal, and it breaks my heart to think of these young men / women shooting to kill one another. To get to that point things must be really really bad, I really want to know what we can do to help this stop. Not just for the terrorized neighbors, but for the people involved in these gangs, in this violence. I don't want to live in fear, I want to feel safe sitting in our car parked on the street in front of our house while our baby finishes her nap, I want to feel OK about playing in our backyard and not constantly concerned a bullet is going to come flying by. This kind of violence is horrifying, it is at random times, it can not be anticipated and it is reckless. I want to help solve the problem, I want to help these kids, but I don't know how. Who does?
Thank you
Thank you for changing the headline. Your flexibility and willingness to avoid sensationalism (while respecting individuals) is a major part of why I follow this page, and this act of class is no exception.