Thursday, 4:30 PM
Two dead, one injured in Roxbury shooting
(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
By John R. Ellement, George Rizer, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
Two young men were killed and a third was injured in a shooting early this morning on a Roxbury street near Dudley Square, according to Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll.
Gunfire erupted at 2:02 a.m. outside 37 Williams St. Residents reported hearing five to eight shots. One neighbor, who was afraid to give his name, said he looked out his window and saw the bodies of two young men.
"They were just sprawled out, lying on the ground," the man said in an interview this morning.
A 28-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. A 20-year-old man was rushed to Boston Medical Center, were he died.
The third victim, a 27-year-old man, drove himself to Boston police district station B-2 on Dudley Street. He was rushed to Brigham and Women's Hospital in critical condition, Driscoll said. Police did not release the names of any of the victims.
Police have not reported making any arrests. It was not immediately clear what sparked the shooting.
Police brought in portable lights to illuminate the ground in the predawn darkness. Yellow crime scene tape closed off the entire block of Williams Street between Shawmut Avenue and Washington Street.
E. Barry Gaither, president of Williams Street homeowners association, said this morning that the block of neatly kept three-story brownstones is usually quiet. While residents have reported some problems with drug dealing, the block has not seen gang activity or violent crime. The side street has been a safe, friendly place to live for the last decade, Gaither said.
"People do sit out and occasionally visit," Gaither said. "It occasionally does become like a neighborhood."
Another resident who declined to give his name agreed that the area was usually safe. "After the sun goes down and Dudley station closes, you never see anyone on the street," he said. "It's just so quiet."
Andrew Ryan can be reached at acryan@globe.com
