Boy, 13, slain near his home

A 13-year-old boy was shot in the head and killed near his house in Dorchester last night, making him one of the youngest homicide victims in the city this year.

Relatives identified the victim as Steven Odom, a student at James E. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury.

Moments after the sounds of four gunshots echoed down the narrow street just after 8 p.m., a panicked woman emerged from the house screaming, "No, no, no, no!"

She was assisted by a man who guided her from the scene. They were identified by a neighbor as the boy's mother and her husband.

Shortly after, a young girl approached the scene, screaming, "That's my brother! I'm not letting you take my brother!" As more relatives gathered around the newly built duplex, one of them cried, "Not my Stevie, not my Stevie!" Another punched at the air amid the cacophony of grief.

Odom was coming home from playing basketball when he was shot, said his uncle, Eddie Mallory, who huddled with the family last night at Boston Medical Center, where the victim was taken.

"He always had a smile on his face," Mallory said. "He played the drums. He was involved in church. He was just a wonderful kid."

The fatal shooting occurred in front of the victim's house on Evans Street, police said. No other details were provided.

Police were first alerted to the shooting by the city's new gunshot detection system, which picked up four shots as they were fired, said police at the scene.

Marion Robinson, 65, the victim's neighbor, said she heard four shots and saw the boy lying face down on the street when she went to check on the commotion.

"I'm scared," Robinson said. "I'm nervous. It's bad enough you can't walk on your street. You're not safe right outside your house."

The boy's mother is a nurse who is extremely protective of her children, Robinson said. "She doesn't even let the kids go off the porch. She's very protective, very religious."

Neighbor Gary Robinson, 44, said the family went to Bible study on Wednesdays and church on Sundays. "He's a good kid; he plays the drums," Robinson said. "His father was trying to start up a church."

Grieving relatives and friends gathered at the family's home last night. Several people hugged and cried on the steps and the front lawn as friends brought food.

Just after 10 p.m., a woman, identified by neighbors as the victim's mother, returned to the house with other relatives.

Brandon Odom, the victim's brother, said outside the home that Steven was the youngest of five siblings. Neighbors described the Odoms as a close-knit family.

Across the street, a girl who identified herself as Steven's friend, Roxlind James, 13, said: "We grew up together. We used to ride bikes together up and down the street. He loved playing basketball, and he loved being with his family."

Rosalind James, Roxlind's mother, said she and Steven's parents had been working with community service groups to clean up Corbet Street, near where the shooting occurred.

The teenager is among the growing list of youths killed violently. They include Jermaine Goffigan, 9, who was shot Oct. 31, 1994; Raheem Dixon, 2, who was beaten to death on Sept. 17, 1998; Malik Andrade-Percival, 3, who was shot on Jan. 24, 2002; Trina Persad, 10, who was shot on June 29, 2002; Dontel Jeffers, 4, who was fatally beaten on March 6, 2005; and Liquarry Jefferson, 8, who was shot on June 24.

John C. Drake of the Globe staff and Globe correspondents Khristopher Flack and Marc Robins contributed to this report.