Gunfire, then a family's worst fears
Mattapan woman says she heard shots and knew brother was dead
Early Thursday night, Victor Torres told his sister he was going down the street for a few minutes to check out his friend's motorcycle. He promised her he would be right back.
But a few minutes after the 21-year-old walked away from their Mattapan home on Cummins Highway, Jessie Alvira heard two gunshots and just knew that her brother was dead.
Torres's mother tried to reach him on his cellphone, but he never responded.
Torres, according to police, did not have a record and was not a gang member. Alvira, his older sister, said he had never been arrested and always tried to stay away from trouble. He spent most of his time, she said, riding bikes or at Fenway Park, where he picked up litter and cleaned seats after Red Sox games.
"He was one of the few young men of his age who has never had any type of record. He was a mama's boy," said Alvira, 30. "This time they got the wrong person."
Torres was the second person killed during a week of gunfire that also claimed the life of a 16-year-old from Roxbury and injured four others. On Monday, a 6-month-old girl was struck by a bullet as she lay in the arms of her father. On Wednesday night, the Roxbury teen, who police believe was involved in a gang, was killed just a few yards away from his home on St. James Street. Early Thursday morning, a 19-year-old woman standing on a porch on Fayston Street in Dorchester was hit with a bullet police believe was meant for the gang member standing next to her. Late Thursday night, an unidentified teenager was grazed by a bullet near Norfolk Park in Mattapan.
Yesterday morning, Alvira and Torres's 48-year-old mother, Gladys Baerga, were grieving in their home as friends trickled into the foyer, trying to comfort them.
But Baerga was inconsolable. She leaned against the wall and wept.
"He was my favorite son," she said. "He was not a troublemaker. He was a hard-working man. He was my love. He was my treasure, and they took him away from me."
Officer Eddy Chrispin, a police spokesman, said detectives have not determined whether Torres was the intended target, but he confirmed that the victim was not known to police.
The killing happened less than half a mile from the apartment where Alianna Peguero was shot after an unknown assailant climbed the balcony and fired at her 48-year-old father, Alinson Peguero, striking him in the hand. The bullet then pierced the child's body. Police are investigating the possibility that the shooting was related to an escalating feud between two Jamaica Plain gangs that claimed the life of Peguero's son, Alan, last September. Police believe the 20-year-old was in one of the gangs.
The week's violence enraged many in the community and stoked fears that there would be more bloodshed during the summer months, when shootings and homicides tend to increase because more people are roaming the streets.
"There are a lot of old beefs and new beefs popping out," said the Rev. Shaun Harrison, a Dorchester minister and head of Operation Project GO, an organization that tries to steer young people away from gangs.
"You got new beefs because you have people coming out who want to shoot someone to make a name for themselves," he said. "It's crazy . . . This is just the beginning."
At about 8 p.m., Torres was in front of his friend's house, tinkering with the motorcycle, when someone walked up to him and shot him from behind, according to Alvira.
Torres's friend, who identified himself as Tony Gonzalez, 24, said he was inside the house, looking for tools, when he heard at least six shots.
When he rushed outside, he said, he saw Torres lying on the ground and called 911. The shooter was gone, said Gonzalez.
"He was a good man," Gonzalez said of Torres. "He go to work. That's all he ever did."
Alvira said her brother left New York about two years ago to live with her and another sister. In New York, Torres felt aimless and was unemployed, recalled Alvira.
"We told him to come to Boston and become a man," she said.
In March, he started working for Aramark, a Philadelphia-based company that provides cleaning and food services at Fenway. Torres came in after midnight to clean the stands after late games, said Kevin Haggerty, resident district manager at Aramark.
"His immediate supervisor said he could always count on him," Haggerty said. "Our hearts go out for his family."
Alvira said her brother grew to love Boston and even developed grudging admiration for the Red Sox, though his favorite team remained the Yankees. His goals were simple: He wanted to learn to drive, save enough money for a car, and keep his job, she said.
"He was happy being here," Alvira said. "He didn't want to go back to New York because New York brought him trouble."
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com. 