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David Jones, 17, was fatally shot while walking home from his high school. |
David Jones enjoyed talking with his three younger siblings and his mother so much that he would send them text messages throughout the day, even while at school. So when his mother didn't hear back from him yesterday afternoon she knew something was wrong.
"He said, 'I'll be home by 3,' " said his mother, Keeshawn Brown, her eyes red from crying. "And by 3, my son was dead. I got a [text] message at 2:03. He told me about the MCAS retake. He wasn't here at 3. . . . I left him a message and said. 'You better be home by 3, or I'll cut your phone off.' "
Jones, 17, of Dorchester was gunned down in broad daylight while walking home from Madison Park High School, where he was a junior, his family said.
Police said he was shot multiple times at about 2:30 p.m. on Bartlett Street in the city's Roxbury section. He was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center. There was no arrest in the shooting by last night.
A line of yellow police tape stretched across the narrow street last evening, as detectives and patrol officers searched for evidence and conducted interviews.
Officer David Estrada said the shooting did not appear to be random, and the victim had been known to police.
Jones's family said they did not know who would have shot him or why. They said he had been in trouble in the past, but would not elaborate, only saying that he was trying to turn his life around. "He was very intelligent," his mother said. "He was very protective, especially of his younger brother."
"He lost a lot of friends who died," said a woman named Toni, who wouldn't give her last name and described herself as a close friend.
After the shooting, family and friends gathered at Jones's Dorchester home. He had two sisters, ages 16 and 8, and a brother, 14.
"He played the father figure," said Toni. "His brothers and sisters . . . he tried to guide them the right way."
Jones's death is the city's 61st homicide this year, which is five fewer than at this time last year.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 617-343-4470 or text the word tip to 27463 to remain anonymous.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
