Woman slain by gunfire in Dorchester
A young woman was fatally shot multiple times in the chest early yesterday afternoon in an act of violence that has neighbors worried and parents fearing for the safety of their children in a nearby school.
The shooting on Olney Street in Dorchester occurred a few yards away from Holland Elementary School, the place where Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, other police officials, and area youth had planned to gather last night for a unity meeting.
What was supposed to be a celebration of better community and police relations, marked by music, dancing, and the signing of a peace agreement between the police and Dorchester youth, was instead clouded by bloodshed.
At approximately 1:30 pm, police responded to reports of gunfire and found the wounded woman on the street. Police said the victim was 18 years old. Her name was not released. She was rushed to Boston Medical Center where she died, police said.
She was the 10th homicide in Boston this year. By March 9 of last year, there were seven homicides in the city and a total of 74 for 2006.
Friends of the victim who arrived at the scene yesterday afternoon said her nickname was Goldie. She wasn't in any kind of trouble, they said, describing her as someone who loved to smile, dance, and joke with her friends.
"She smiles all the time; she loves life," said Princess Guzman, 19, who was standing on her aunt's porch and frantically trying to find out the condition of her friend. "She was here all the time. We see her every day. I just saw her. I mean, I can't believe it."
Goldie recently graduated from high school, Guzman said, adding that she had stayed away from the trouble that plagued this part of Dorchester, often offering to help choreograph dance moves with those involved in a local dance troupe.
"She comes over and watches us dance and then tries to come up with moves herself," Guzman said.
As investigators scoured for evidence and interviewed residents, parents trying to pick up their children from school encountered yellow police tape blocking their path. As the parents were instructed by police to go behind the school, children in school buses pressed their faces against the window to get a glimpse of the commotion.
One teenage student said he could see the victim's jacket and her blood on the street.
"It's crazy out here," said one neighbor, a mother of five who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation. "I have to protect my kids. I'm scared of even walking to the corner store. People are getting shot in broad daylight, just like that. If it had happened just an hour later, kids would have been coming out of school in the middle of the shooting."
After the shooting, organizers said they believe now more than ever that the community needs to come together.
"People get shot out here, I'm sorry to say, almost every day," said Marquis Tucker, the group's program coordinator. "Unfortunately, it's normalized. People go on about their normal daily lives as if nothing had happened at all."
At the Teen Empowerment ceremony last night, the police commissioner said, "Some cowards pulled out a gun and shot a young woman tonight and killed her."
"This sort of thing needs to stop," Davis said. "There's only one word for this, cowardice."
He and other ranking members of the Boston Police Department and about a dozen youths signed a contract in which police and young people mutually agreed to respect one another. The contract was the result of various prior meetings between police and members of Teen Empowerment, police and youths said last night.
About 100 teens attended the event, some going up on stage to sign the contract themselves during a break in the event.
"Too many people are dying," said Tegina Graham, 15, a South Boston resident who was at the event. "Every day it happens, to people you know, too. . . . It's sad."
Despite yesterday's homicide, Marquis Roberts, 20, a Roxbury resident and a member of Teen Empowerment, said he remained optimistic about the agreement. "It can work," he told reporters. "We've just got to get everyone on the same page."
Globe correspondent Michael P. Naughton contributed to this report. 
