Teen dies in park stabbing
TAUNTON - A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death and five others were injured early yesterday at a park just a few blocks from the teen's home.
Police responded to a report of a stabbing at Memorial Park at 1:14 a.m. yesterday, and the victim, Devon Hodo, was taken to Morton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A woman who answered the door yesterday at the home of Hodo's family on Second Street said no one would talk to a reporter.
Five other people were injured in the attack. Three were treated and released from Morton Hospital, while two others were admitted for treatment. All suffered knife or head injuries, according to a statement from Taunton police, who declined to discuss the case beyond their press release.
They did not identify the individuals who were injured. Hodo's death is being investigated by Taunton police and State Police detectives from the Bristol district attorney's office.
Hodo had a criminal record and had been shot in the leg in February after a dispute with another teen, the Taunton Daily Gazette reported. Police Chief Raymond O'Berg said the fight, between rival Taunton and Brockton gangs, appeared to have started at a birthday party.
News was slow to spread through the neighborhood, where several residents said people tend to be private.
"We haven't heard anything," said Steve Kelly, 24, who was sitting on his mother's porch near the park with his fiancé, Rachel Forman. "It's quiet; people keep mostly to themselves."
Memorial Park was the site of a murder eight years ago. On June 7, 2000, Lisa A. Costa, a 40-year-old grandmother, was shot to death while playing with her 2-year-old grandson. George W. Powers IV was convicted of randomly shooting Costa.
