Man stabbed to death near Uphams Corner

A 23-year-old Dorchester man was stabbed to death last night after a group of young men chased him near Uphams Corner.

The victim, identified by police and relatives as Bobby Mendes of Groom Street, was stabbed in the chest, near his heart, and fell mortally wounded at the corner of Humphreys and Wendover streets shortly after 8 p.m.

He was dead on arrival at Boston City Hospital.

Witnesses said the fight that preceded the fatal stabbing involved a group of young men who knew, and in some cases were friendly, with each other.

"It's crazy. They're all friends," said Anaele Harris, 24, who knew the victim. "They were looking for his cousin. His cousin was fighting someone else. Bobby was just helping his cousin. Too many dudes jumped on him."

Witnesses said they knew the young man suspected in the killing and police acknowledged they had a strong suspect. Some officials said they had been told a suspect would turn himself in to police.

When the victim's family was notified of his death, bedlam broke out on nearby Groom Street, just a few hundred feet from the murder scene, as relatives and friends spilled into the street. The neighborhood, sandwiched between Edward Everett Square and Uphams Corner, includes a large Cape Verdean population.

The Mendes family is a large, well-known family in the Cape Verdean community and as news of the murder spread, relatives and friends sped to the scene to comfort the family. Mendes' mother wept at the scene, calling out ''My baby, my baby."

Harris said the fight started on Wendover Street then spilled down to Humphreys Street, where the fatal encounter occurred. He said the victim's parents, sisters and brothers were at the scene almost immediately.

"It was terrible," Harris said. "They were crying. Bobby was on the ground. They were saying to Bobby, 'Don't leave! Don't leave!' "

Mendes became the 67th homicide victim in the city this year.

The killing occurred on the eve of a joyous moment in the Cape Verdean community. Antonio Masarenhas Monteiro, the first freely elected president of Cape Verde, is scheduled to arrive here today for a weeklong visit. As part of his visit, he is scheduled to meet with Cape Verdean elders from the same neighborhood where Mendes was killed.

The area was flooded with police, including many members of the city's gang unit. But Deputy Superintendent Pervis Ryans said there was no indication the killing was gang-related. Some gang investigators had been taking target practice on Moon Island and raced directly to the scene.

Police intended to keep a heavy presence in the area throughout the night. ''People are angry," Ryans said.

Outside the Mendes home a young man wearing a knit cap wept as he told his friends, "He died in my arms. He looked up at me and he just died in my arms.""