Activists march to protest violence

Less than an hour before about 150 community members marched through Dorchester yesterday to protest Boston's recent series of youth killings, activist Joao DePina , 28, was reminded why he was participating.

Steps outside of Sun Pizza on Blue Hill Avenue, about a mile from the march route, an unidentified 25-year-old man was gunned down in broad daylight.

"Here we go again," DePina said.

The shooting, at about 5:15 p.m., was the 14th homicide in the city this year, five more than the total at this time last year. It came days after a New York woman was fatally shot outside of an after-hours party on Geneva Avenue while visiting Boston for her great aunt's birthday.

"I feel nothing is moving along with us," said DePina, a 20-year Boston resident who said he is considering moving out of the city, along with his two children, because of the violence. "We shouldn't have to fight for this. We shouldn't have to fight for black youth in Dorchester to not have to worry about going to the park and ducking if they hear a gunshot."

As the sun set last night, police were examining the corner where yesterday's shooting took place, dotted with 13 orange evidence cones and a tan Red Sox hat. Police said they did not have any suspects and appealed to residents for information.

The shooting took place on the eve of a meeting between the Rev. Bruce Wall and Curtis Sliwa , head of the Guardian Angels, who want to return to the city to help fight crime after more than a decade. Boston police have urged the Angels to work with the city if they choose to walk the streets.

"We have a right to justice, and we're not getting it," said DePina. "We're building a team, and if we have to, we will march down to City Hall to get what we need from our city and save our children."

DePina was joined by the parents of several homicide victims and Councilor Charles Yancey, as well as the families of several Boston shooting victims. The march was originally organized to commemorate the birthday of Quinntessa Blackwell, the victim of a March 9 shooting, who would have turned 19 yesterday.

The nearly two-hour trek started in the area where Blackwell was killed, near a school where an 11-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday for bringing a loaded gun into the building.