Teenager fatally shot near home in Roxbury

Police say victim may have been targeted

Mourners created a memorial for the young man who was fatally shot at a Whittier Street housing development in Roxbury early yesterday. (Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)

Just hours after officials announced widespread sweeps of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods and the arrests of 50 gang members and drug dealers, a teenager was shot and killed outside his home in Roxbury early yesterday.

About a dozen people gathered last evening near a small shrine outside an apartment building on Whittier Street at the site where the 18-year-old male was killed in the 2:20 a.m. shooting. A Minnesota Timberwolves jersey hung over a cardboard box filled with candles, pictures, flowers, and teddy bears that lay on the walk leading up to a blue metal door, where a hole and a dent from bullets were visible. A pair of high-top sneakers brimming with flowers sat nearby.

The slaying was Boston's 34th homicide of the year, compared with 36 at this time last year, according to police.

Police did not release the victim's name but said he was known to authorities.

"With regard to the victim in this case, we don't believe it was a random shooting," said Officer James Kenneally, a department spokesman.

Kenneally said police did not know whether the shooting was gang-related but said it was under investigation.

On Whittier Street, neighbors and friends of the victim said the apartment building where he lived was like one big family, and they described him as a compassionate, gentle young man, always ready with a hug.

Neighbor Gerardo Collazo, 44, said the victim asked for advice Friday evening on how to win his girlfriend back. Collazo and another neighbor, Stephanie Thomas, suggested flowers, and Collazo bought him a bouquet but didn't see the victim before going in for the night about 10:30.

"We always take care of each other here," said Collazo, who said he considered the teen as a son. "And we've never had any problems here - in all the 18 years I've lived here."

Collazo and Thomas said they heard the shots outside their building yesterday. "I thought it was firecrackers," Thomas said. "Then I came downstairs and he was face down on the ground. Our hearts are aching, and we miss him very much."

The flowers Collazo bought for the victim to give to his girlfriend sat next to the shrine in a vase last night. "Now the flowers are for him," Collazo said.

Pastor Samuel B. Hogan of the nearby Good Shepherd Church of God in Christ said in a phone interview that he plans to talk to his congregation today about staying positive.

"I'll let them know that right in the midst of God doing good things that evil is always present," he said. "But we have to continue to speak to the young men in our community to let them know this isn't the right thing to do because sometimes they forget and our community suffers."

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a statement that the shooting would not deter law enforcement.

"We stay vigilant in our effort to preserve peace this summer," he said. "Fifty violent criminals were arrested yesterday. That's 50 less gang members and drug dealers to threaten the community. We have an ongoing commitment to fulfill."

Late Friday afternoon, Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis and Menino, along with gang unit officers, motorcycle crews, and mounted police, announced "ongoing sweeps" to address the beginning of a violent summer.

Davis said the sweep "sends a message . . . that gang-related and violent activity is not acceptable." While Menino said, "The message out today is if you're out there, we're going to find you."

Police were also called to Carney Hospital about 3:40 a.m. yesterday where a man wounded in an unrelated shooting walked into the emergency room, Kenneally said.

He told police he was shot at the intersection of Morton Street and Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan, Kenneally said. Police said his injuries were not life-threatening.