Fatal shooting leaves friends at a loss

Danielle Grady was devastated by the fatal shooting last month of her 41-year-old boyfriend. Over the weekend, to help her forget her grief for one night, two friends took her to a club in Mattapan.

As the three women drove home early Saturday, Grady wept over Jeffrey Jones, who was killed after a party July 12.

" 'Everything is going to be OK. Don't worry. It's going to take time to heal,' " Grady's friend and neighbor recalled telling her as they drove back to Dunkeld Street in Dorchester about 3:15 a.m.

As they parked, a tall, thin man in red pants walked from an alley, strode to the Mazda, and fired at least six shots at Grady, who was sitting in the back seat. The man, who wore a dark hooded top pulled tight over his face, then fled through the alley toward Fayston Street, according to police reports. Grady was pronounced dead at the scene.

The attack was almost identical to the shooting that claimed Jones: A gunman had walked up and shot him and another man as they sat in a small, white car on Shandon Road after a large party in the basketball court of a Franklin Hill public housing complex.

"I'm still shocked," Grady's friend said yesterday by phone. "I can't believe it's happened."

The woman's name is being withheld by the Globe because she is a witness to the shooting.

Grady, who had just turned 30, had a 7-year-old son and no known enemies, the friend said.

Police said yesterday they could not comment on whether Grady's shooting was connected to Jones, who was shot 2 miles away.

"It is standard procedure for investigators to review whether or not there is a link between recent homicides," said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department. "However, in this particular case, we cannot comment specifically so as to not compromise the integrity of the investigation."

Hours after Grady was shot, police received a report that a knife-wielding man was chasing another man in his 40s on Itasca Street. By the time they arrived, the victim had been fatally stabbed.

Police arrested the alleged attacker, James Miskel, 42, of Dorchester, and charged him in the slaying. The victim, who was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center, was not identified. Police said Miskel will probably be arraigned today.

The killing was the fifth slaying since Thursday. It brought the total number of homicides in the city to 45 as of yesterday, three less than at the same time last year.

Grady's friend said yesterday that while Grady did not fear anyone coming after her, she did not know if Grady's shooting was connected to Jones.

"There is just no way to know," the friend said. "She was a great mom. She was not related to any gang or street violence or anything like that. . . . She's not this trash that was shot in the middle of the street."

Jones was shot around 11 p.m., as he was putting his key in the ignition. Jarrid Campbell, 27, of Roxbury, who was sitting next to him in the car, was also killed. Police have made no arrests in the shootings.

Dozens of people who had been at the July 12 party were on the street at the time and scattered when the shots rang out. Grady was not there, the friend said.

"They killed an innocent person," said Grady's cousin, who did not give her name while mourning yesterday at the home of Grady's mother in Dorchester. "She didn't know anything."

The shooting horrified neighbors along Dunkeld Street, who called police and sent them text messages after they heard the shots and women screaming. Many asked the Globe not to identify them because they feared for their lives.

"I'm nerve-wracked," said one 21-year-old woman, who lives on Dunkeld and heard the shots from her bedroom. "I fear for mine and my daughter's life. I'm leaving here."

Yesterday, a makeshift memorial was set up outside the three-story, peach-colored apartment building where the shooting occurred. A photo taken in July of Grady, smiling in a white dress, was displayed in the middle of the memorial.

Neighbors described Grady as a friendly woman who spent most of her time with her son. One neighbor recalled seeing her walk down the street last week with the boy, lift him, and swing him around.

"They were just laughing," said the neighbor, who declined to give her name.

Grady's friend said that Grady, who was the oldest of five children and lived with her younger sister, had been looking for a job and was keeping busy by spending time with friends and family. But her grief over Jones's death often overcame her.

"We would be playing cards or something, and she would break down in tears," the friend said. "She was really hurting."

Globe correspondent Aubrey Gibavic contributed to this report. Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.